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.

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!