As a child, I looked forward to Tuesday nights when my mother had her card game at our home. A variety of coffee 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.

This recipe is the taste memory of that cake. My mom was not a cook, so all of our desserts came from local bakeries. I worked on this for quite a while to achieve a moist crumb cake layered with cinnamon and nut streusel. The apple nuggets and spicy, sweet crystalized ginger gems hidden inside are a welcome surprise. The sweetened ginger punches up the apple spice batter and adds a zing.

Topped with a golden crispy streusel, this is a perfect brunch coffeecake that will adapt to whatever menu you're serving.

Contact Diane Rossen Worthington at seriouslysimple.com.

Ginger Apple Streusel Cake

Nonstick baking spray

For the streusel

1⁄2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon

1⁄2 cup flour

1⁄4 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1⁄2 cup finely chopped walnuts

For the cake

2 1⁄4 cups flour

1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger

3⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1⁄4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

8 tablespoons ( 1⁄2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

3⁄4 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar

1⁄2 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 large apple, (Granny Smith or Golden Delicious), peeled, cored and roughly chopped

1 1⁄4 cups buttermilk, mixed with 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10-cup bundt pan or a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with baking spray and set it aside.

To prepare the streusel: In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, flour and butter, and cut together with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles large bread crumbs. Mix in the walnuts and refrigerate until ready to use it.

To prepare the cake: Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the crystallized ginger and set it aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugars, continuing to beat until it is very light. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well before adding the next. (Don't overbeat the batter or the cake will be tough.) Gently stir in the chopped apples. With the mixer on low speed, alternately beat in the flour mixture and the buttermilk, beating until the batter is just mixed.

Spoon half of the batter into the pan and sprinkle it with 1⁄3 of the streusel. Spoon on the remaining batter and smooth it out to an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining streusel evenly on top. Pat it down gently.

Bake until the top of the cake is firm and the streusel is crisp and golden brown (a skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean), for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool the cake for 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. If using a bundt pan, invert the cake onto a wire rack and then invert it back onto a serving platter so that the streusel side is on top. Dust it with confectioners' sugar.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

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