Maple Pecan Cardamom Coffee Cake

Another lap around the sun into the great unknown. But at least there's cake!

Hey everyone!

Thanks for joining me here in 2025.

I feel very fortunate to have enjoyed the last two weeks away from work and even though the time flew by, I’m thankful to have had a moment to pause and recharge.

Not everyone gets time off around the holidays - my current job is an anomaly in an industry that often pushes employees to their limits during a season when businesses couldn’t be more swamped or resource strained. Behind every successful holiday affair, there’s a baker, butcher, farmer, or cashier who put in the hours to get the food to your table. I’m starting my year grateful to have had time to rest and see friends while also testing some upcoming recipes that i’m excited to share. :)

A recent sunny morning in Brooklyn

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A thing to check out…

A few months back, Zoe Denenberg and I were chatting in the DMs about croissant culture across American bakeries. I shared my experiences working in a large scale bakery that put such a focus on laminated European pastries that it felt like the remainder of the bakery’s offering (as well as the bakers not hyper fixated on croissants) were often an afterthought. It turns out that my feelings had resonance across conversations that Zoe was having with other bakers. She gathered our thoughts and some harsh economic truths about making croissants from scratch into a great article just published on Best Food Blog, a writer-lead online publication about food and food culture. Check it out!

whatszoecooking

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In case you didn’t see…

There were SO many end of year round ups, in/out lists, and 2025 predictions posted across social media last week. Amidst the blur and standing head and shoulders above much of it, my favorite collection of pastry adjacent prophesy came from the one and only Natasha Pickowicz. Her insight into the current state and future vision of things is refreshing and the slides in this post have me genuinely excited for how cakes, potlucks, self publishing, and more will evolve in 2025.

natashapickowicz

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Another nice thing…

I had a very low-key New Years Eve at home this year. A glass of wine, some TV, and maybe the best deviled eggs i’ve ever made? Deviled eggs always feel homey yet vaguely celebratory. I don’t believe i’ve ever had a memorably bad one but Eric Kim’s recipe for these sesame and soy sauce deviled eggs (from his book Korean American) are the ones that i’ll be talking about and bringing to every function in 2025. Kewpie mayo, toasted sesame oil, a dash of soy sauce and a briny sliver of toasted nori to finish it off, what’s not to love here?

Lets normalize have deviled eggs for dinner. Who’s with me??

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A quick housekeeping note…

During the break I decided to utilize a new feature here on Substack that automatically moves all of my posts older than two months behind a paywall. This essentially creates a paywalled archive that will only be accessible to followers who subscribe monthly ($5) or yearly ($50) to Save Me A Slice.

This decision is to ensure that paying members have access to all of my recipes and writing while encouraging new readers to support the work I do here. As I continue to devote more time to writing and recipe development your support is vital and much appreciated. If you’re thinking of becoming a paid subscriber - I love the little community here and I think you will too.

If you have questions about paid subscriptions, feel free to reach out via DM!

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Today’s recipe…

I love a good slice of coffee cake. A tender slab of buttery cake with a geological-like striation of cinnamon and brown sugar lying just beneath a terrain of sweet and toothsome streusel that leaves delicious detritus anywhere it’s enjoyed.

Named not after its flavor or primary ingredient but after its quintessential beverage pairing, the cake has its roots in Vienna where folks quickly grew fond of pairing sweet treats with the darkly bitter and newly introduced elixir, coffee. German immigrants are believed to have brought their crumb topped kuchen to the United States where it morphed from a yeasted bread-like treat into the cake that we know and love today.

When I first made this coffee cake, I was amazed by the interaction between cardamom and maple syrup. I don’t recall ever seeing these flavors paired together but when combined they create this unique harmony. Cardamom’s distinct notes of camphor/menthal soften amongst the toffee-like woodiness of the maple syrup in a really delightful way that I know i’ll return to again for future recipes.

A few notes…

• I buy most of my spices whole and grind what I need for any given recipe. With some spices this isn’t absolutely necessary but with cardamom, I find that freshly ground is completely different (and better) than the pre-ground stuff. This recipe uses about 8 to 10 green cardamom pods. Remove the black seeds from inside the pods and grind them using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.

• I used ricotta in this recipe because I enjoyed the more milder tasting cake it produced, compared to sour cream or yogurt. The ricotta provides moisture and richness here while allowing the cake to remain sturdy which is important to hold the weight of the streusel.

• There’s both baking powder and baking soda in this recipe to account for the lack of acidity that sour cream would usually provide in a more traditional recipe. I haven’t tested this recipe with anything besides ricotta so proceed with caution if you make a swap.

• This cake can be baked in a 9x5 inch loaf pan as well. The result will be shorter but equally delicious.

Maple Pecan Cardamom Coffee Cake

Makes one 8.5” x 4” loaf

Pecan Cardamom Crumble

25g white sugar

25g light brown sugar

67g all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 large pinch kosher salt

60g pecans, roughly chopped

54g unsalted butter, melted

Maple Pecan Ripple

18g maple syrup

36g light brown sugar

10g all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

60g pecans, finely chopped

Coffee Cake

135g all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

113g unsalted butter, room temperature

87g white sugar

43g light brown sugar

27g maple syrup

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

125g ricotta, room temperature

Preheat the oven, prepare the pan

1. With a rack in the upper middle position, preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly oil and line an 8.5x4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

Make the Pecan Cardamom Crumble

1. In a medium bowl, stir together all of the ingredients except the melted butter.

2. Pour the melted butter into the bowl and use a rubber spatula or your hands to stir together the ingredients until the crumble has formed irregular and rounded lumps. If the crumble has turned into one large mass it can be broken up by hand just before spreading atop the cake.

Make the Maple Pecan Ripple

1. Be sure the pecans are finely chopped. Pieces should be roughly the size of small lentils.

2. Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl and use a spoon or finger tips to mix together. The finished mixture should be sandy or slightly paste-like.

Make the Coffee Cake

1. In a medium bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to combine and set aside.

2. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer in a large bowl add the softened butter, both sugars, and maple syrup. Mix on medium low until combined then stop the mixer to scrape down the inside of the bowl very thoroughly. Return the mixture to medium for 1 to 2 minutes until the mixture is slightly lighter in color and appears aerated but not too fluffy.

3. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time and scrape down the bowl between each addition and after the last egg has been mixed in. Add the vanilla paste/extract and continue mixing on medium low for 1 minute.

4. The mixture might look curdled, this is okay. Add the ricotta and mix on low until fully incorporated. Stop the mixer and add all of the dry ingredients to the bowl. Pulse the mixer to slowly fold the flour into the wet batter. Stop just when the dry streaks are few and far between. Use a rubber spatula to finish mixing by hand, scraping all the way down to the bottom of the bowl.

5. Add half of the batter into the prepared pan and use an offset spatula to create a smooth and level surface. Be sure to push batter into all four corners of the pan. spread the maple pecan ripple across the batter and very gently press to ensure the mixture adheres to the surface.

6. Add the remaining half of cake batter atop the ripple and smooth flat. Sprinkle the pecan cardamom crumble across the surface, being sure to get the corners and to apply the mixture as evenly as possible. Gently press the crumb into the surface to stick it in place if it appears loose.

7. Place the coffee cake into the oven and bake for 55 to 60 minutes. When finished, the cake should be well risen and firm to the touch with the crumble taking on a golden brown color. A toothpick may come out wet or with large crumbs. I recommend using a probe thermometer to ensure the interior has reached 195F to 200F. Allow to cool for 45 minutes in the pan before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy.