Upsides to the Down Economy/ Funeral for a Friend

A friend of ours died the other day in a tragic accident. Tonight, we are attending a "celebration of his life". In other words: a wake, big party, a bash, which is exactly what he would have wanted because he was always the life of the party. I wanted to bring something to the family, so this morning I made a sour cream coffee cake, which has kind of turned into the thing I make when people die. I first made it about twenty years ago when we lived in Mangowood and a neighbor's brother died. My neighbor's father loved it so much, they brought a piece on the plane ride home for him to enjoy as dessert. I got the recipe out of my Kitchen Aid cookbook and bake it in a Bundt pan. I also replaced the sour cream with low fat yogurt with no discernible difference in taste. I hadn't made this cake in a long time, but when a neighbor's father passed away a couple months ago, I decided to make it again. Unsure if my memory of it was as good as I remembered, I cut the cake in half and kept some at home to try. Still delicious and moist and it kept good for days. I got a nice call from the family, thanking me for the cake. Leslie said "we were out most days and it was nice to come home and have a little something sweet before we went to bed." Food and funerals seem to go together and although there is nothing to lessen the pain when a loved one dies, we still need to eat. This cake, filled with cinnamon, nuts and butter, is comfort food in the best sense of the word. You don't have to wait for someone to die, however. Bake one now and bring it to a friend to enjoy together.

Sour Cream Coffe Cake

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup chopped nuts (I toast them first)

3 cups All purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts in small bowl. Set aside.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into mixer bowl. Add butter, sour cream and vanilla. Attach bowl and flat beater. Turn to Stir Speed and mix until ingredients are combined, about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape bowl. Turn to Speed 4 and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Stop and scrape bowl.

Turn to Stir Speed and add eggs, one at a time, beating 15 seconds after each addition. Increase to Speed 2 and beat for 30 seconds.

Spread half of batter in greased and floured 9x13x2" pan or 10 inch tube pan. Sprinkle with half of cinnamon-sugar mixture. Spread remaining batter in pan and top with remaining cinnamom and sugar. Bake at 350 for 50 to 50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Turn out of pan and cool.