With marbled layers of cardamom, chocolate and pistachio and crunchy knafeh topping a rich chocolate ganache, Dubai Chocolate Coffee Cake from Maram Falk was the Blue Ribbon Group Coffee Cake Contest winner at this year’s Minnesota State Fair.
The Minnetonka baker, who is an engineer and project manager at the University of Minnesota, wove nods to her Palestinian heritage with the knafeh, while the cardamom cake recognizes her husband’s Swedish heritage. The winning entry blurs the boundaries of the coffee cake category, something the special contest encouraged.
“I loved the beautiful appearance and taste of this coffee cake which has a warm spice added to both the crumble and the cake,” State Fair baking judge Maureen Fischer said about the entry. “The crumble topping included pistachios and knafeh which gave it a lot of texture, without being overwhelming, and a green and chocolate drizzle brought it all together.”
Falk was the top entry of 82 coffee cakes. As the first-place winner, she won a $200 King Arthur Baking Co. shopping spree and, of course, a blue ribbon. Runners-up in the category were Jen Walker with Blueberry Corndog Coffee Cake and Joanne Holtmeier for Tiramisu Twist Coffee Cake.
Falk shared her award-winning recipe, along with these helpful tips:
- When buttering the pan, to prevent sticking and for easier release after baking, apply a thin layer on bottom and sides of pan with a pastry brush. Add parchment paper to match bottom of pan and butter that, too.
- Use freshly ground cardamom, prepared in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Pre-ground cardamom is not strong enough to be aromatic or have the desired flavor in this coffee cake.
- If mixture begins to separate, use a double boiler to gently heat the bowl, or a kitchen blow torch over the mixture, to emulsify.
- Buy knafeh unbaked from a local bakery, if available. If not, try phyllo dough. Crisp the knafeh by using an air fryer, although a toaster oven, regular oven or stovetop work, too. Falk bought the knafeh and pistachio cream from Golden Nuts in Columbia Heights.
- The base layer is the cardamom cake because it is the most dense, and that structure is needed at the bottom.
- Baking at the less-typical 330 degrees works here to keep the cake moist and the marbling intact.
- Add a green drizzle, in addition to the ganache, for a color accent, using pistachio cream, white chocolate and a splash of heavy cream.
Look for all these winning entries, plus hundreds more, in the Creative Activities Building during the fair, which runs through Sept. 1.
Dubai Chocolate Coffee Cake
Serves 8 to 12.
This recipe from Maram Falk of Minnetonka won the Blue Ribbon Group Coffee Cake Contest at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair. She credits French pastry chef Bruno Albouze for the marbling technique she used. For best results, use the weighed measurements.
