This recipe for “Coffee” Coffee Cake is from Edd Kimber’s wonderful new book One Tin Bakes which features 70 recipes that you can make in a 9x13 pan. It’s such a smart idea and Edd truly covered every possible type of bake in this book. There are so many incredible recipes that it was tough to pick just one, but this cake has everything - toasty crispy streusel, coffee and cinnamon filling, and a moist tender sour cream cake. It comes together pretty quickly too, which is my favorite kind of bake.

This is the sort of cake that I can’t stop eating all day, in fact, I ate it for two meals the day I made it! It’s so homey and comforting with just enough coffee and spice to make me keep coming back for more, and the toasty, nutty brown butter in the streusel is an A+ move!

Edd very kindly gave measurements in imperial and metrics, but do yourself a favor and just use a scale it’s so much easier, especially for this type of book that was written in metrics and converted. I hope you all pick up a copy of this book from your favorite Indie Bookstore, they need us more than ever - check out IndieBound.com and Bookshop.org for your local shopping options.

“Coffee” Coffee Cake

from One Tin Bakes by Edd Kimber

serves 12-15

For the Brown Butter Streusel

125g (4 ½ oz/1 stick + 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

160g (5 ¾ oz/1 ¼ cups) plain (all purpose) flour

115g (4oz/ ½ cup + 1 heaped tablespoon) caster (superfine) sugar

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

For the Espresso Swirl

100g (3.oz/⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons) light brown sugar

3 teaspoons instant espresso powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the Sour Cream Cake

175g (6oz/1 ½ sticks + 1 teaspoon) unsalted butter, at room temperature

300g (10 ½oz/1 ½ cups) caster (superfine) sugar

315g (11oz/2 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs

180ml (6 ¼ fl oz/ ¾ cup) sour cream

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease the baking tin and line with a piece of parchment paper that overhangs the two long sides of the tin and secure in place with metal clips.

Start by making the streusel as it needs to chill a little before baking. Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, stirring frequently. The butter will melt, sizzle and splatter and then start to foam. As it foams, little golden brown flecks will start to appear. Before these flecks burn, remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter over the dry ingredients, using a fork to stir until it all clumps together. You’re looking for a mix of fine crumbs and big chunks. Pop the bowl into the freezer.

Next, make the espresso swirl. Mix together the sugar, espresso powder and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

For the cake, place the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

Meanwhile, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add the vanilla to the butter mixture and mix briefly to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until fully combined before adding another. Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the sour cream, starting and finishing with the flour.

Spoon two-thirds of the cake batter into the prepared tin spreading into an even layer. Sprinkle over the espresso swirl then dot small spoonfuls of the remaining batter all over the top, covering as much of the swirl mixture as possible before gently spreading so that all of the swirl mixture is covered. Sprinkle over the streusel in an even layer.

Bake for 45–50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for about 15–20 minutes, before using the parchment paper to gently lift it out on to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, cut into portions and serve.

Store in a sealed container for 2–3 days.

There's a new kid in town, and by kid in town, I mean almost 12 week old maniac puppy in my house. I posted on instagram yesterday that he was 10 weeks old, but when we actually sat down with a calendar this morning we realized he was 12 weeks, not even close to 10.

We have been in a weird time vacuum this summer- busy and traveling at first, and now trying to settle back into a new routine and trying to teach this puppy to sleep in his new home and be a good citizen. NYC is a loud smelly place and our sweet pup is learning to love it more and more everyday, even if it is overwhelming - a 20 minute hang on the stoop is stimulating enough to send him straight to a 2 hour nap. Me too pup, me too. This city is tiring.

Some friends of ours, I've mentioned a couple of times, decamped Brooklyn for the Pacific Northwest and moved to a house with a hearty rhubarb plant, alongside an Italian plum, and hazelnut tree. Pete joked that their new yard makes it's own trailmix, a very Northwestern ideal.

Apparently that plum tree is an excellent producer of the most beautiful deep-blue purple plums with orangey centers, and our generous pal sent me a box full that I sadly haven't had much time to play with because of aforementioned pup that requires hourly monitoring...But yesterday I said enough is enough - I need to bake something with these plums! As I sliced them open I smiled at the perfectly contrasting colors and was so happy to be hanging in the kitchen with a peacefully snoozing pup in the other room.

It was a bit slap-dash as all of my pies are these days. I use my new fave easiest pie crust ever, but swapped in 1/2 rye flour for the all purpose, and employed my general prefered fruit pie formula - adjusted it a bit to suit the fruit.

Italian Plum Pie

makes one, 9-inch pie

Plum pie is my very favorite summer-to-fall transitional treat. Italian plums are so perfectly suited to cooking and baking that I can't resist them at the market everytime I go. They pair well with both bright citrusy flavors and deeper toastier ones like whole grain flours and warm spices like cinnamon. In a moment of Four and Twenty Blackbirds inspiration, I shook a bottle of cardamom bitters into the filling which ended up being a totally delicious move, which I highly recommend if you happen to keep a bottle in your bar. If not, a bit of ground cardamom is great too.

2 1/2 times Easiest Pie Crust Ever, split into two discs (sub 1/2 of the all purpose flour for rye)

2 lbs (900g) Italian plums

1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar

seeds of 1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup (30g) flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

5 shakes/dashes cardamom bitters or 1/2 teaspoon cardamom

pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 400º F and place a rack in the bottom of the oven. In a large bowl combine the sugar and vanilla bean seeds. Use your fingers to rub the and seeds into the sugar until well combined and fragrant. Stir in the flour, cinnamon, and salt.

Pit and cut the plums into quarters. Add them to the bowl but don't stir quite yet.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of the dough into a roughly 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick and place it into a 9-inch pie pan. Place in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the pie. Roll out the other piece of dough into a roughly 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick.

Add the bitters to the filling, then gently stir the filling ingredients together. Fill the pie shell, press gently to compact the fruit, and top with the second crust.

Trim the edges so they are even, then crimp them together. Alternately, cut the second crust into 1 1/2 to 2-inch strips and weave a lattice top.

Slide the whole pie into the fridge or freezer for about 15 minutes or until the crust is very firm. When you are ready to bake, carefully and gently brush the top of the pie with a beaten egg and sprinkle with a healthy dose of coarse sugar.

Put the pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake for 45-55 minutes or until the crust is deep golden brown and the juices bubble. Cool before slicing.