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Belmont resident James Reid grew up on coffee cake.
“We were either bottle fed, or we were fed coffee cake. That’s what we were weaned on since we were little kids,” he joked.
Now, the former documentarian is recreating his mother’s 1969 almond coffee cake for his cottage food business Rustic Nosh. Featuring a butter-based yellow cake with a thick layer of brown sugar crumb, almond syrup and powdered sugar, Nanci “Gran” Reid’s recipe can now be pre-ordered and picked up at Ladera Garden & Gifts on Saturday mornings, or delivered to Peninsula residents’ doorsteps.
“All my customers say, ‘The crumb is crack,’ and really the crumb is the special part of the cake,” James Reid said.
Before her passing in 2017, San Francisco resident Nanci Reid would make 50-100 coffee cakes a year, giving them to friends and family for any and all occasions, James Reid recalled. She left her recipe behind, and James Reid slightly modified it to ensure a taller and moister cake.
“It was really about taking things I’ve learned through these great bakers in our family and getting it to the point where this is how I want my coffee cake version to be,” he said.
James Reid hopes to eventually transition operations to a commercial kitchen, offer nationwide shipping and sell at farmers markets. He said he’d consider expanding to brunch, but for now, his focus is solely on coffee cake.
Since April, James Reid has also been organizing an Artisan Garden Market at Ladera Garden & Gifts on the third Saturday of each month. The market brings together Peninsula-based cottage and small artisan food makers and curators who don’t have a storefront.
“It gives people who work hard every week to bring some yummy thing to the Peninsula a spot,” he said. “It’s kind of a community that’s been built.”
The next Artisan Garden Market will be Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Expect curated cheeses from Redwood City-based Kitchen Table Travel, baked goods from San Carlos-based After-School Snack Attack, salts and vinegars from Half Moon Bay-based Salt Air Cellars and sourdough bread from Redwood City-based Everything Sourdough.
Rustic Nosh, Instagram: @rusticnosh. Pre-order Sunday through Thursday for Saturday morning pickup at 2029 Ralston Ave., Belmont. The next Artisan Garden Market will be Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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