Tea Blog

Did you take me up on my suggestion to go apple picking? If you did, you are probably now wondering what to do with all of those apples. You may have picked up a jug or two of cider as well. Why not have an apple-themed tea to celebrate the fall? I have a lovely little cookbook that I picked up the first time we went to the orchard, called simply Apple Cookbook by Olwen Woodier. This book has recipes for every course, as well as a little about the fruit that humans have been consuming for at least 8,000 years.

Apple Coffee Cake is a classic on the tea table. Here is Woodier’s recipe:

• 3 medium apples
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
2. Peel, core, and chop the apples into small pieces. Place in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.
4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Fold into the sour cream mixture.
5. Stir in the apples. Pour half of this batter into the prepared pan.
6. In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1 tablespoon cinnamon, brown sugar, and pecans. Sprinkle over the batter in the pan. Cover with the rest of the batter and smooth the top.
7. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes; turn out of pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely before cutting.

Yield 15-20 servings.

That’s just a teaser of the recipes in this handy book. The Curried Chicken Salad would be great for tea sandwiches, a French Apple Tart would be an elegant dessert, and Sherried Apple Crepes would be a nice alternative to the more traditional scones.

To go with it, try this Apple Tea adapted from Taste of Home:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 4 whole allspice
• 4 teaspoons of your favorite unscented black loose leaf tea
• 1 cup unsweetened apple juice or cider
• 2 tablespoons honey

Directions: In a small saucepan, bring water and allspice just to a boil; add tea. Remove from the heat; cover and steep for 3 minutes. Strain out allspice and tea. Stir in apple juice/cider and honey; heat through. Yields 2 servings.

Don’t forget to check out The Tea Scoop!