Today I want to teach you how to prepare a delicious aubergine and veal croque cake that will come in handy to solve a daily dinner or to take to a party, since it is a recipe that comes out with enough portions. Croques cakes are savory cakes inspired by the famous French croque monsieur, those mixed sandwiches covered with bechamel and au gratin that you have surely seen in many bakeries.

To make a croque cake, you will need a tall rectangular mold. Mine is from Emile Henry, a well-known French brand that makes fantastic ceramic utensils of excellent quality. They are resistant, non-porous and can be washed in the dishwasher without problems. For me, Emile Henry products are essential in my kitchen.

The croque cake that I have cooked today is made with aubergines and veal, but you can put the ingredients that you like the most. A combination that appeals to me is that of Iberian ham and Urgèlia PDO cheese, which is a soft-paste cow's cheese from the Catalan Pyrenees.

Emile Henry rectangular ceramic mold , Le Creuset damascus steel knife and Le Creuset wooden cutting board

Ingredients

• Crustless sliced ​​bread (I used 7 1/2 slices)
• 1 onion
• 400gr minced beef
• 4 tablespoons of fried tomato
• 2 eggplants
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Olive oil
• 50gr grated cheese

For the bechamel:

• 50g butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 50gr flour
• 600ml milk
• 150gr grated cheese
• Salt
• Nutmeg

Elaboration

1. Chop the onion small and put it in a pan with a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt over medium-low heat. You must poach it well. If you see that it begins to burn, add a splash of water and continue cooking until it acquires a golden color.
2. Add the minced meat, salt and pepper and let it brown.
3. Add the fried tomato and cook for a couple of minutes. Booking.
4. To prepare the bechamel, put the butter and olive oil in a saucepan . When the butter melts, add the flour and stir a few times with the help of a whisk . Let cook for a couple of minutes without stopping stirring.
5. Add the warm milk while stirring.
6. Season with salt and add a pinch of nutmeg. You see stirring until you get a thick bechamel.
7. Remove from the heat and add the grated cheese. Stir so that it is well integrated.
8. Cut the aubergines into thin slices and salt them. Cook them in a frying pan with a splash of olive oil for a couple of minutes on each side. Reserve them.
9. To assemble the croque cake, line the mold with baking paper. To make it easier to adapt the paper to the mold, you can wet it under the tap and drain it well. This way you can give it the shape you want.
10. Line the bottom of the pan with the sliced ​​bread, trimming slices if necessary. Put a layer of minced meat, a layer of aubergines, cover with bechamel sauce and put another layer of sliced ​​bread on top. Repeat the process ending with a layer of sliced ​​bread. Finally cover with bechamel and decorate with a few slices of aubergines and grated cheese.
11. Bake for 35 minutes with heat up and down at 180º.
12. After the time, remove from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before unmolding it.

Emile Henry rectangular ceramic mold , Le Creuset damascus steel knife and Le Creuset wooden cutting board