Atelier’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Posted on Sep 26th, 2025

by Chef Bradyn Kawcak

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Chef Bradyn Kawcak of Michelin-starred Atelier Chicago shares his elevated take on a beloved classic: sour cream coffee cake.

Rich, moist, and aromatic, this version layers the comforting notes of espresso and maple with the crunch of pistachios for a surprising twist. The cake is brushed with a fragrant maple-coffee syrup straight out of the oven, then finished with a pistachio crumble for texture and depth.

It’s the perfect treat to enjoy with your morning coffee—or as a show-stopping dessert that feels both familiar and refined.

Atelier’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Chef Bradyn Kawcak

This sour cream coffee cake, created by Chef Bradyn Kawcak of Atelier Chicago, pairs a rich, tender crumb with the warm flavors of espresso, maple, and pistachios for an elevated take on a classic comfort dessert.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 25

Course Dessert

Cuisine International

Servings servings

Ingredients

Cake Batter:

225 g butter
435 g sugar
2 eggs
215 g sour cream
45 g decaf espresso
1 vanilla bean seeds scraped
345 g flour
4 g baking powder
1 g salt

Maple Coffee Syrup

100 g coffee
100 g maple syrup

Pistachio Topping

85 g roasted and chopped pistachios
40 g brown sugar
7 g ground cinnamon

Instructions

Cake Batter

Add the butter, eggs and sugar to a mixing bowl, and mix on medium high with the paddle attachment for about a minute and half.
While that is mixing, take another bowl and add the flour, baking powder and salt. Give it a quick whisk.
In a separate bowl mix the sour cream, coffee, and vanilla bean. Add the dry mixture and sour cream mixture alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with flour.
Once everything is incorporated, mix until just combined, about 1 minute, scrape the bottom of the bowl and let it mix on medium for another 30 seconds.
Grease and flour a 10"/25 cm bundt cake pan. Bake 350°F/175°C for 1 hour.

Maple Coffee Syrup

Simmer coffee and maple syrup together for 2–3 minutes until slightly reduced.

Pistachio Topping

Mix chopped pistachios, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Assembly

When the cake comes out of the oven, brush generously with warm syrup several times. Sprinkle pistachio mixture on top and gently press to help it adhere.