A couple of months ago I was chatting with my friend Clare and we realized we had fond memories of having tea and coffee with our grandma’s, always over delicious baked goods.

Clare mentioned that her and her Great-Grandmother had a tradition when she would go over to visit that involved teacups. Given my love for pretty serving pieces that I love to use, I had to know more!

We got together one afternoon and over my Oma’s Apple Sponge Cake, I chatted with Clare about her memories while I photographed her amazing antique teacup collection.

Having both an English Grandmother and Great-Grandmother it only made sense she’d have a love for all things tea!

As a child Clare spent days and nights with her Great-Grandmother, learning to quilt, sew and taking several tea and cookie breaks in between. Each time when she would leave her Great-Grandmother’s house she was allowed to pick one tea cup from the china hutch, to take home and begin her own collection.

The collection is comprised of family heirlooms from New Brunswick that were brought across country when the family moved and lots of fun colourful pieces that were acquired over the years – creating this lovely backdrop for endless entertaining possibilities.

As you can see, Clare has this amazing collection of teacups that carry such special memories and whenever she uses one of those teacups, she can be transported back to those lovely afternoons with her Great-Grandmother.

For me, seeing Clare’s collection reminded me a lot about my Oma (German grandma).  A tradition that I can remember since I was very young was having ‘coffee’ around 3-3:30PM every afternoon which involved everyone sitting down, enjoying coffee from teacups and of course a delicious baked good.

That is where this simple Apple Sponge Cake comes in as its a cake I remember having at ‘coffee’ and its the perfect accompaniment to coffee or tea.  It’s a light sponge with a buttery outer crust that forms from baking the cake in a springform pan. Plus the apples add the perfect sweetness and you can top this cake with either an apricot jam glaze or simply icing sugar.

Total time: 75 minutes (30 minutes preparation, 45 minutes baking)
Servings: 10-12
Equipment: springform pan, electric mixer

Ingredients:

2 large apples (i.e. Gala), peeled and each sliced into about 16 slices
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 tsp lemon zest
3 eggs
2 cups all- purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp butter, melted

For the topping you simply sprinkle icing sugar over the cake once cooked OR make the apricot topping:
2 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp water

Instructions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350F and butter the springform pan.

Peel the apples and cut each apple into about 16 slices. Set the apples aside.

For the sponge cake, use an electric mixer or hand-mixer with a whisk attachment.  Whisk the soft butter for 2 minutes on medium speed.

Add the sugar, vanilla extract, salt and lemon zest, whisking for 2 minutes on medium speed until you obtain a smoothie mixture, scraping the sides of your mixing bowl as needed.

Whisk in the eggs one at a time, mixing for about 30 seconds on high speed after you add each egg.

In a separate bowl, mix together your flour and baking powder.

Then, add the flour mixture into the mixture in two instalments, alternating with the milk, whisking on medium speed briefly after each addition (flour-mix-milk-mix-flour-mix-milk-mix).  You will have a mixture that is more like a dough than a batter once all is combined.

Transfer the mixture into the springform pan and smooth the top to make it even.

Arrange the apples in two circles on the sponge cake mixture. Then melt the 2 tbsp of butter and pour the melted butter over the apples.

Put the cake in the bottom third of the even to bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

As the cake is getting close to being done mix the 2 tbsp apricot jam with 1 tbsp water in a small pan. Bring to a boil and then immediately remove from the heat.

As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, pour the apricot jam mixture over the cake.

Then, release and remove the ring part of the pan. Loosen the cake away from the bottom of the pan, then leave to cool on a wire rack.

Alternately, if you don’t use the apricot jam mixture as a topping when the cake has cooled sprinkle the top with icing sugar.

Then, enjoy a piece of this delicious cake with a cup of tea or coffee and family or friends!

This cake is best enjoyed within two days of baking.

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Teacups, Grandmas and Apple Sponge Cake appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

Blending together my love for the mountains and food, their Afternoon Tea was a top-notch experience.

The drive out to the Kananaskis area where the Lodge is located itself is relaxing and beautiful.

The mountains sort of pop-up around you as you make your way off the main road onto a gravel road toward Mount Engadine.

As we arrived, we drove up to the main lodge which sits amongst nature and the mountains.

When we walked into the lodge we discovered a main dining area as well as a wrap-around deck that holds comfortable, red ‘muskoka’ chairs (as I like to call them having grown up in Ontario). Both inside and outside have unreal views of the mountains.

We situated ourselves in some comfortable chairs out on the deck and I’m pretty sure we had the best spot in the house to enjoy their Afternoon Tea.

We started our Afternoon Tea experience with their famous ‘Sunday Strudel’ and our choice of coffee from Mountain Blends (based in Canmore) or tea from the Banff Tea Company. The staff told us a story about the original owners who ‘were both Swiss and Austrian’ and inspired their strudel recipe that they have crafted in their honour. And then, we enjoyed the best Apple Strudel I have ever had!  The pastry was perfectly buttery and flaky and the filling was full of apple goodness. We savoured every, single, bite as we basked in the sunshine and mountain views.

Next up were some savoury bites with a local cheese and meat board which included: salami, cured bison and prosciutto along with gorgonzola, gouda and brie, and grainy mustard and marmalade to round out each bite.

The meats and cheeses were fresh and full of wonderful flavours.

To me it doesn’t get much better than an afternoon amongst the mountains with a great friend, wonderful conversation and scrumptious food. And, as we sat on the deck and enjoyed the afternoon, we noticed how quiet and peaceful it was; it was simply the sounds from nature as the backdrop to our afternoon.

Mount Engadine Lodge is a beautiful oasis in the mountains. Not only do they serve Afternoon Tea every day of the week, you can stay overnight at the lodge in one of their 9 unique bedrooms including one of their suites or chalets which have a balcony or deck where you can bask in the stunning views. And, if you look around while you’re visiting, you’ll notice the Swiss and Austrian influence in some of the décor with the original, hand-carved pillars in the dining room area.

If you’re looking for the perfect mountain getaway, head on up to Mount Engadine Lodge for their Afternoon Tea and bask in the amazing views and enjoy delicious fresh-baked items and local food!

You can even call 24 hours ahead of time to make a reservation for Afternoon Tea. (And a tip we learned, if you’re going on the weekend, give them a shout anyway to make sure they’re not closed for a private event).

P.S. Mount Engadine Lodge just started serving brunch every weekend too so maybe I’ll see you up there as I’m definitely going to be heading back their soon!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

Disclaimer: Thank you to Mount Engadine Lodge for treating us to Afternoon Tea.  Thank you for supporting the brands that I support. All opinions are my own.

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