This is an old family recipe, originally made with smoked white fish, but when I switched to a plant based diet, I simply had to veganise it. It also won me a cooking competition ran by Innocent Ireland and was featured in image magazine online. So very proud of this recipe.

Caribbean Cauliflower Ocean Cakes
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 1 Cauliflower
- 500 ml Water
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 2 tbsp smoked sea salt
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 2 Nori sheets.
- See Notes for subs
- Batter
- 1.5 cups Atta Flour
- 1/4 cornflour
- 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh or ground turmeric
- 1 cup Innocent Coconut Milk
- 1/2 cup soup water
- 1 bunch scallions chopped
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp West Indian Hot Sauce or
- 1/4 scotch bonnet pepper chopped
- (See notes for hot sauce that works
- Well with this recipe).
- 1 cup oil for frying.
Instructions
- Method.
- Add 500 ml water to a large pot. Add the miso, smoked sea salt, turmeric and nori sheets. Bring to the boil. Then switch off. Next Place the whole head of cauliflower in the pot and allow to absorb the flavours of the ocean bath for about 30 minutes until tender.
- While your cauliflower is lounging in its ocean bath. Switch on the oven to about 180 C.
- And prepare your ingredients for the batter.
- Note* Add vinegar just before frying.
- Chop your scallions into small rings and put to one side.
- In a bowl, sift in the flour, cornflour, baking soda, salt and thyme.
- Next, whisk in your coconut milk, add hot sauce, thyme, turmeric, and scallions.
- Leave batter to one side and check on the cauliflower. It should be slight tender, not soft.
- Remove it from the ocean bath. And slice it up in about 1/4 cm pieces. Don’t worry if some of the cauliflower flakes or chunks away. You need a few chunks for a bit of bite when frying.
- Add the prepped cauliflower to the batter. And give it a good stir. Add in your vinegar.
- In a large frying pan, add about a cup of oil, maybe a bit more, you need it to be at least a 1/2 inch high for frying. Ensure your oil is hot, to test its ready, add a small piece of bread, if it sizzles straight away, the oil is ready.
- Half fill a soup ladle with the cauliflower batter and pour into the hot oil, repeat this x 4 until you have four cauliflower cakes sizzling in the pan.
- Have a bowl next to the pan lined with kitchen roll. As the patties are done, transfer them onto the kitchen roll. Add four more to the pan.
- Lift the cakes off the kitchen roll, place them onto the wire rack and pop into the oven. Repeat this process until all your batter is finished.
- This recipe is lovely served with chips, salad, or wrapped in some lettuce leaves with a drizzle of mayo!
Notes
You can use any type of seaweed for this recipe, nori is just the easiest to find.
Any hot sauce with habanero or scotch bonnie peppers works. Most of these can be found in your local supermarket.
A demonstration of how I put the cakes together. This video is also up on my IGTV so go follow and check it out!

Because these ocean cakes aren’t exactly ‘healthy’ I always serve it up with a delicious salad, adds a bit of balance 😆!

Honestly, I hope you make this recipe, it’s so tasty and moreish, you’ll be going back for more. Also, if you’ve made too much, they are as delicious cold as hot!!
Here are some photos from the Innocent Ireland Competition. See link below for Image Feature.
Follow @theveganhoneypot on instagram for more stories and recipes.
https://www.innocentdrinks.ie/
https://www.image.ie/life/caribbean-cauliflower-ocean-cakes-recipe-182621
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