As a child I looked forward to Tuesday nights, when my mother had her card game at our home. A variety of coffee cakes and teacakes sat on the buffet table along with a beautiful tray of sliced fruit. Needless to say I would gravitate toward the sweet cakes scented with chocolate, cinnamon, walnuts, apples or pears. My favorite was the spiced streusel cake.

Today's recipe is the taste memory of that cake. My mom was not a cook at all, so all of our desserts came from local bakeries. That meant I had to develop each recipe I liked from scratch. I worked on this recipe for quite a while to achieve a moist crumb cake layered with cinnamon and nut streusel and the welcome surprise of apple nuggets hidden inside.

Topped with a golden crispy streusel, this coffee cake will no doubt become a family favorite. I also like to serve this for breakfast, brunch or afternoon tea. I prefer to bake it in a lightweight bundt pan because it cooks more evenly, but a 9- by 13-inch baking dish can be used.