Austin Café Mercado Sin Nombre Reinvents the Twinkie

I rarely order a treat before lunchtime, so I was conflicted as I stood in front of Mercado Sin Nombre’s order window on a sunny Thursday morning in Austin, scanning the menu board.

I’d already gotten a biscuit sandwich and a horchata cold brew, but two words gave me pause: Masa Twinkie. I had to make one mine.

When I took the treat to one of the colorful repurposed milk crate tables in Mercado Sin Nombre’s sunny alleyway and got a closer look, I was delighted to find this was no ordinary Twinkie—or “Twinkie-style dessert” as I’m sure the lawyers would have me call it. Mercado Sin Nombre’s version is the same long, ladyfinger-like shape. But it replaces the familiar sponge cake with blue corn masa. It’s filled with a Mexican chocolate ganache with a tickle of fermented chile, and topped with marshmallow fluff that’s bruléed to an irresistible golden brown.

Clever masa-centric remixes of familiar dishes are central to founder Julian Maltby’s vision for Mercado Sin Nombre. He works with importers who source heirloom masa from family-run farms throughout Mexico. Maltby nixtamalizes the corn in-house and weaves it into nearly every item on his menu. “I want people to appreciate masa,” he says, “I think a way to do that is to put it in things that are comforting and recognizable.”

Mercado Sin Nombre’s masa appears where you might not expect it; earthy but light as air in a biscuit, nutty and subtly sweet in an atole cortado, and, yes, as a deep bass note enriching those dark, chocolatey flavors in a glorious mashup of a s’more and a Twinkie.

The ingenuity on display at Mercado Sin Nombre is part of an ongoing movement in the US to put masa front and center in a wide range of traditional and inspired dishes. The recent proliferation of great masa-based dishes was sparked by two companies importing heirloom corn varieties into the US: Masienda, based in Los Angeles, and Tamoa, Maltby’s supplier of choice, based in Mexico. Access to regular shipments of quality Mexican heirloom corn means chefs can grind and nixtamalize their own masa for tortillas, tlayudas, and whatever else they dream up.

Maltby’s interest in masa goes back to his college days, when he wrote the thesis for his master’s in architecture on nixtamalization “and other corn-related stuff.” He’d seen the culture of corn and coffee on display during trips to Mexico, and in 2020, he began selling coffee brewed using Mexican beans and other masa products at farmers markets and pop-up events.

In July 2024 he opened Mercado Sin Nombre, his first brick-and-mortar cafe, built around the mission of showcasing the versatility and depth of masa as an ingredient. “We’re not in Oaxaca or Mexico City,” he says, “so I’m not going to try to make tetelas or tlayudas, because I think other great places are already doing that. But we’re in Austin, and I think people would relate to the comfort of a biscuit sandwich, or pancakes, or a Twinkie.”