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When Deanna and I teach food photography and styling we teach our students a lot about composition and how to build a frame with a center and from that center, the eye travels throughout the frame. When I think about where I live (in the Jaffa flea market area) I feel as I if I can imagine the neighborhood as a photo composition, that which has a one center to which all paths lead. For me that center is the local bakery/café- Margoza.
Margoza is what the Central Perk would be if a. it wasn’t out of a TV show, and b. was located in the Middle East. It’s the place to stop off for coffee post-dropping off kids at school pre-work. It’s the place to go with the kids for an after school sweet snack. It’s the place to go when you are in dire need of delightful pastries and delicious bread. It’s the place to go to catch up with your neighbors.
When I enter Margoza I feel at home. They know me, they know the way I drink my coffee and which bread I like. That’s what makes Margoza the center of my neighborhood composition.
I’ve wanted for some time now to post one of their amazing recipes, but most of the stuff they make there is just the kind of stuff that should be left to the experts and not made at home. I don’t usually buy coffee cakes because they are just so easy to make but on the day I tried their coffee cake, I decided to make an exception to my rule. And I figured it was a great recipe to borrow and share.
Michal and Shai (the owners) gave me the recipe which yielded 16 cakes, so I had to get to work in the kitchen to break it down so that I share a recipe that would be home-baker friendly.
Here are some of the tips I learned along the way:
Ingredients for 2 loaf pans or 24 muffins:
For the streusel (makes 4 cups):
⅔ cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup ground almonds
1¾ cups flour
½ cup cocoa powder
7 oz./200 grams butter, very cold and cut into cubes
For the cake:
7 oz./200 grams butter, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup demerara sugar
2 eggs
¼ cup espresso or hot water mixed with one teaspoon instant coffee
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt or buttermilk
2½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Prepare the streusel:
Prepare the cake: