Moravian Sugar Cake

If a coffee cake and a focaccia had a baby, it would look something like this. Sugar cake is a tradition of the Moravians, a group of Czech Protestants who landed in the same Pennsylvania region as the Amish and Mennonites, and later settled in North Carolina. In 1766, the Moravian church founded Salem, now Winston-Salem. And not long after, the church established Winkler Bakery, which has been in continual operation since, churning out its signature Moravian sugar cake.

The cake is unique in many ways. The base is less cake-like and more of a bouncy, chewy, yeasted dough. Before baking, you poke it all over, just like a focaccia, to create a dimpled surface. A heavy sprinkling of brown sugar and cinnamon caramelizes into crunchy bits on the surface and seeps into gooey pools in the pockets. But the real plot twist is a secret ingredient mixed in the dough: mashed potatoes. It’s not unprecedented to use potatoes as a starter to help natural yeast bloom—all types of potato breads spring to mind—but potatoes in a cake feels like a real leap of faith. The great news is they’re undetectable in flavor but add a lot in the way of texture and a sturdy crumb. The other great news is I have no patience for boiling, mashing, and cooling potatoes as step one for making a cake. My recipe breaks with tradition and uses dried potato flakes so you can get this show on the road.

Within the Moravian community, the cake is still a special part of Easter and Christmas. Outside of the community, it’s become popular throughout North Carolina as a breakfast treat and bake sale staple. To me, it’s ideal as a not-too-sweet, beautifully tender snacking cake that is perfect bite after bite.