“Coffee cake is a simple yet flavorful cake,” says 2020 F&W Best New Chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph, chef at Austin’s Ezov. “It’s not only perfect as a dessert after a meal but also delicious with your morning coffee or tea. The combination of corn flour and coffee is really special, and this recipe showcases that beautifully.”
To create the tender, delicate crumb, butter is beaten into the dry ingredients, a rather unusual mixing method that makes it nearly impossible to overmix the batter. Sour cream locks in moisture, while Turkish coffee and corn flour give the cake a complex, sophisticated flavor profile that’s hard to put your finger on. Meanwhile, the crunchy nigella seed streusel goes well with warming pumpkin pie spice notes and the cake’s nuanced coffee flavor. The result is an elevated coffee cake that will have you going back for seconds (and thirds).
Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
Turkish coffee can be purchased on Amazon or from specialty grocery stores. Make sure that you are using corn flour — not cornstarch or cornmeal.
Make ahead
Coffee cake can be baked and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one day. Freeze the cake by wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and placing the wrapped cake inside a large ziplock plastic freezer bag; the cake will keep in the freezer for up to three months.
