RECIPE - Hellmann's Savory Blender Cake (Bolo Salgado do Liquidificator)

Don't try this at home!

Sorry, but we couldn't resist posting this recipe which we came across when searching the Internet for Brazilian recipes that call for mayonnaise. Yesterday's post about the Brazilian expression "travelling in mayonnaise" got us thinking about mayonnaise in Brazil and how it's used, which in turn led us to this truly awful-sounding recipe.

The recipe come from Hellmann's Brazilian website. Brazil does have Hellmann's mayonnaise just like most of the rest of the world, and it is one of the better brands, so Flavors of Brazil really isn't slagging Hellmann's product so much as their ideas for how to use it. Even the name they've chosen is really unappetizing either in English or in Portuguese, where it literally means "salty cake of the blender". The recipe doesn't have much Brazilian about it except for the fact that it includes ground Brazil nuts (castanha-do-pará). Do you imagine some Betty Crocker-type in Hellmann's research kitchen said "Let's thrown in some Brazil nuts. That'll make it Brazilian!"? Nor does the recipe include mayonnaise - but I guess when you search Google for mayonnaise recipes, they'll toss anything with the word Hellmann's your way. For Google, just like for us, Hellmann's is just a synonym for mayonnaise.

Who knows, this cake might actually be delicious. We don't know, and we're not going to spend time and money to find out. On the off chance that any of Flavors of Brazil's readers actually make the recipe, please do let us know how it turned out. We'd like to be proven wrong.
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RECIPE - Hellmann's Savory Blender Cake (Bolo Salgado do Liquidificator)

Filling:
1 Tbsp neutral vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb (500 gr) smoked turkey breat, deli-style, cut into cubes
1 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

Batter:
1 cup whole milk
1 cup neutral vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup ketchup (Hellmann's, of course)
1 tsp salt
1cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup ground Brazil nuts
1 Tbsp baking powder
Additional vegetable oil for greasing the cake pan
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Prepare the filling:  In a medium pan, heat the vegetable oil, then fry the chopped onion until it just begins to brown. Add the cubed smoked turkey and let cook for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add the chopped cilantro, and let cool completely. Reserve.

Prepare the batter: Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Grease a rectangular cake pan (8x12 inches, 19x31 cm) and reserve.

In a blender, combine the milk, the oil, the eggs, the ketchup and the salt. Blend at high speed for one minute. Add the whole-wheat flour and the ground Brazil nuts, then blend at medium speed for three minutes. Add the baking powder and blend at low speed for one minute.

Pour half of the batter into the bottom of the pre-greased cake pan. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the surface, then carefully pour the rest of the batter over the filling. Place on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.

When only warm, cut into squares, remove from the pan and serve.

Note: This cake can also be made into muffins, using a muffin tin and adjusting cooking time.