Yes way.

Last summer at Victoria Beach lake in Winnipeg, Canada, I had one of my top 5 breakfasts in living memory. Along with my hosts, the infamous Buller kids (shoutout to Kris, Chels, and Jonah), I hopped on a borrowed bike and cycled from our cabin to a bakery around 15 minutes away. When we arrived at 9 am and parked up the bikes, the bakery was just opening its doors and the smell of what can only be described as heaven filled the air around us.

“Pecan loaf please” said Chelsea Buller with a knowing smile. “Coming right up” said the lady behind the till. We raced back home and Kristen sliced up the loaf, slathered each slice with salted butter, and threw them under the grill. When they emerged from the oven like sweet gold bars of breakfast joy, we passed them around the table no one could wait to tuck in.

“Oh my god” I said with my mouth still full. “What is this?”

“It’s pecan loaf” chorused the table, each person at a varying stage of processing their first mouthful.

This was like nothing I had ever tasted before.

This loaf was made of what seemed like the tenderest brioche with swirling tunnels of nutty, spicy, sticky sweetness burrowing all the way through it. Once toasted and buttered it became the most indescribable thing. It had a wonderfully crunchy, slightly salty, buttery exterior and a pillowy soft interior concealing warm cinnamony caramel pecan goo, which was melted, and yet crunchy all at the same time. Salty, sweet, crunchy and soft, this was quite literally the best thing since sliced bread.

For most of the long car ride home from the lake I googled furiously looking to understand this previously unknown phenomenon. I came across lots of pecan loaf cakes, or loaves of bread strewn with pecan rubble, but nowhere (and I mean nowhere) in the deep depths of the web could I find anything that resembled this absolute Winnipeg winner.

Here is a picture of the bakery in the woods by the lake. Locals have told me that in summer you can see queues out the door as people wait patiently for their pecan prize!

Although disappointed, life went on, and I have since sampled a great many exemplary culinary creations (most recently, Heston Bumenthal’s tipsy cake). Have I forgotten this loaf though? No. I have not. There are still mornings where I lie in bed and think if only I could hop on a bike and bag myself one of those baddies.

And that brings me to this week. I got a text saying my flight to Cyprus was cancelled due to coronavirus. I had been planning to hit the beach with my pal Rahim and meet up with the one and only chef Ed(guk)!

Holiday dreams dashed I decided that only a recreation of the pecan loaf from the bakery on the lake could come close to adequate compensation for this lost opportunity.

I sketched, and listed, scribbled and nibbled, and 11 hours later at 1:30 am, I held my sweet pecan loaf in my arms for the first time.

Whilst this recipe is inspired by the swirled pecan loaf from the bakery in the woods at Victoria beach, I couldn’t resist putting my own twist on it (see what I did there? Twist? Cos now it’s a babbka?) I have also added in my old flavour friend, Mr miso to really leave my mark on this masterpiece. Anyway, I am so proud to share this original recipe with you today, and I hope you love it as much as I do!

Miso pecan babbka

Ingredients:
**Makes two loaves**
Brioche:
530g all purpose flour
100g sugar
10g instant yeast
3 large eggs
120ml water
3/4 teaspoon salt
150g Unsalted butter
filling:
120g salted butter
170g brown sugar
100g pecans
Cinnamon
All spice
4 dates, pits removed and flesh diced very finely
4 tablespoons rice crispies
Two large pinches of salt
miso caramel glaze:
120g salted butter
120g clear, runny honey
170g brown sugar
3 teaspoons white miso paste
Pinch of salt
Pinch cardamom
Method:
1) Place the flour, instant yeast, and sugar in a bowl and stir to combine. Add the water, salt and eggs and combine using a stand mixer with a dough hook or by hand. Leave to knead on the machine for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Add dices of room temperature butter one at a time while the dough is kneading, waiting for each piece of butter to be incorporated before adding the next piece. After another 5-10 minutes the dough should be smooth and elastic, with no lumps of butter.
2) Oil a large bowl and place the dough inside. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 8-10 hours (or overnight).
3) to make the filling place the sugar, pecans and as much cinnamon as you like in a blender. Blits until you get a coarse crumble (a few seconds!). Remove 1/4 of the crumble and reserve in a container. Continue to process the remaining 3/4 of the filling until it is as fine as possible. Add room temperature butter and process. Add salt to taste. Remove from the food processor and set aside.
4) Retrieve the dough after 8 hours and cut it in half. Roll each half into a square that is 5mm thick and spread the filling on top, leaving a slight border. Sprinkle on top the 1/4 filling that we kept crumbly and scatter on the finely diced dates and the rice crispies. Repeat for the second babbka.
5) Roll the babbkas up and slice them lengthways with a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Twist the strands around each other, aiming to keep the open part with the layers of dough and filling facing upwards.
6) Place the babbkas in two buttered loaf tins and cover with a tea towl to prove at room temperature for an hour. If your kitchen is cold turn your oven on for 30 seconds (180) and then off again, and then place the covered babbkas in the oven with the door shut.
7) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees or 175 fan and when the oven has come to temperature, bake the babbkas for 20 mins.
8) While the babbkas are baking combine all the ingredients for the glaze in a pan and melt together on a medium flame. Stir with a whisk continuously and bring the caramel mixture to a boil.
9) When the babbkas have been baking for 20 minutes, bring them out of the oven and top them with the glaze. Divide the glaze equally between the babbkas and use it all! Put the babbkas back in the oven for a final 10 mins.
10) remove the babbkas and let them cool for 10 mins in their tin. Then run a knife around the edges and turn out the babbka.
11) To serve, slice the babbka around 3/4 inch thick and place under the grill to toast. Spread with salted butter and return to the grill once again. When the babbka is golden, toasted and crispy on the top remove and enjoy!
12) Serve alone or with creme fraiche and fruit.