Coffee Cake for Mary

John's mom, Mary Wieczorek, passed away this week. Her memorial service was this afternoon, and everyone present spoke very movingly about what a wonderful cook she was, how generous she was, and how much she will be missed.

I have some of her recipe cards here, for recipes she sent me at various moments. I am looking forward to making them, and to keeping her memory alive in that way.

I made a coffee cake to bring to the memorial, with a cinnamon chocolate streusel topping. It was an easy cake to make, but I sweated over every step, fully as much as if I had been making it to pass Mary's inspection. She had high standards and a great palate.

I'd like to think that she would have enjoyed the afternoon, the cake, the new rosebushes and her beautiful family and friends coming together to celebrate her life and her gifts.


Ingredients:

topping/filling:
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chocolate morsels
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup of vanilla sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

butter or shortening for greasing pans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Blend the filling ingredients together and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add the yogurt and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add the dry ingredients, and mix well. Turn half the batter out into either two greased loaf pans or one greased 8 inch square pan. Scatter half of the filling over the batter, then top with remaining batter. Bake for 15 minutes and then carefully top with the remaining filling mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is brown and the center is firm when pressed lightly. Let cool in the pan for five minutes and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.