The Best Old Fashioned Tea Cakes Recipe (2024)

Desserts | Recipes

ByLynda SelfPublishedUpdated on

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With some basic ingredients that you have in your pantry, you can make a batch of Old Fashioned Tea Cakes. I bet you can’t eat just one – they are downright addictive! It’s one of those classic recipes from the South that everyone enjoys.

The Best Old Fashioned Tea Cakes Recipe (1)

Old Fashioned Tea Cakes are a favorite cookie in the Deep South. Mention “Tea Cakes” to people from other locations and you are sure to get different thoughts on the subject. Some people may think about Russian Tea Cakes while others may think about green tea cakes.

What is a tea cake?

According to my favorite internet source (aka Wikipedia): An English tea cakeis a light yeast-basedsweet buncontaining dried fruit, typically served toasted and buttered. In the U.S.tea cakes can be cookies or small cakes. And in Sweden, it is a sweetened wheat soda bread served with butter, jam, and often cheese. In India and Australia, a teacake is more like a sponge cake.

Russian tea cakes are similar to Mexican Wedding Cookies and are soft, melt-in-your mouth cookies that are covered in powdered sugar. They are very different from southern tea cakes.

Old-Fashioned Southern Tea Cakes

My mother-in-law grew up in rural Alabama on a farm and the recipe I have comes from her. I like to believe that it is an authentic, old-fashioned recipe. Nowadays, it might even be considered a vintage recipe. My husband thinks this is the best tea cake recipe. It’s one of his favorite cookies!

There are several great things about simple Southern recipes like this one. For one thing with this simple recipe, you don’t have to cream butter or use a stand mixer. Another is that by using self-rising flour, you don’t have to use baking powder or baking soda and worry about the flour mixture/ratio being spot on. With this recipe, you also don’t have to worry about ingredients being at room temperature.

Ingredients

This Southern tea cake recipe is made with simple ingredients. My mother-in-law’s recipe calls for the following ingredients:

  • self-rising flour
  • white sugar
  • salt
  • eggs
  • vegetable oil
  • milk
  • lemon and vanilla extract
The Best Old Fashioned Tea Cakes Recipe (2)

I prefer to use the King Arthur brand of self-rising flour because it is not bleached and they don’t use aluminum in their rising agent. It’s the only brand that I am aware of that has those two features.

How To Make Tea Cakes

To make tea cakes, assemble all of your ingredients. Place the self-rising flour (see the recipe for quantity), sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Create a well.

Add the remaining ingredients to the flour mixture and mix with a spoon until all of the flour has become moistened. If you love lemons, you could add a little bit of lemon zest to boost the lemon flavor.

Pour dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead. You may need to add additional flour. Once the dough is no longer sticky, roll out and cut into cookie shapes using a cookie cutter or a cup.

Place dough on cookie sheets and bake in a preheated oven. Keep an eye on them closely because at 450 degrees, they cook quickly and can burn quickly, too.

Once they are golden brown, remove them from the oven. Allow them to stay on the baking sheet/stone for a couple of minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

The Best Old Fashioned Tea Cakes Recipe (3)

These old-fashioned tea cakes with self-rising flour are sure to become a favorite in your home, just as they are in mine.

Just one bite of one of these simple sugar cookies and your family might think that granny, grandma, maw maw, or whatever-you-call-your grandmother came for a visit and left you all with a batch of her prized cookies.

The Best Old Fashioned Tea Cakes Recipe (4)

Tips & Tricks

  • If you use a baking stone, they will probably take a little bit longer to cook. I also recommend that you use parchment paper for easy removal.
  • If you use a metal sheet pan, keep a close eye on your first batch so that you get a feel for how they will bake in your oven. They will bake faster on metal than on a baking stone. Also, you might want to rotate the baking sheet for more even browning.
  • The thinner the cookie, the crunchier it will become as it cools.
  • Store any leftover tea cakes in an airtight container such as a Ziploc bag or cookie jar.

The Best Old Fashioned Tea Cakes Recipe (6)

Old Fashioned Tea Cakes

These Old Fashioned Tea Cakes are simply irresistible.

4.55 from 71 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 18

Calories: 253kcal

Author: Lynda – Southern Kissed

Ingredients

  • 4-5 cups self-rising flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup oil
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla flavoring
  • 1 tsp lemon flavoring

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 450° Fahrenheit.

  • Place flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl.

  • Make a well in the center and add remaining ingredients. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. The dough will be stiff.

  • Place on lightly floured surface and knead. Roll out and cut using a cup.

  • Place on baking stone and bake for 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned.

  • Cool and enjoy.

Nutrition

Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 42mg | Sugar: 22g

Tried this Recipe? Share it Today!Mention @SouthernKissedBlog or tag #southernkissed!

Love cookies and desserts? Here are some more delicious recipes you will want to sink your teeth into:
  • Nutella S’mores Cookies – These cute cookies combine the flavors of s’mores into a cute little cookie.
  • No-Bake Peppermint Cookies – Like Thin Mint Girl Scouts cookies? Then you will not only love these chocolatey minty cookies, but you will also love how easy they are to make.
  • Sweet and Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies – These cookies are great for those who like a little extra spice in their life.
  • Homemade Banana Pudding – Bananas, creamy pudding, and sweet vanilla wafers come together in this popular Southern dessert.
  • Classic Southern Poundcake – This decadent pound cake is a taste of pure Southern delight, especially when you top it with strawberries.
The Best Old Fashioned Tea Cakes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my tea cakes dry? ›

Adding extra flour for rolling can result in a drier, cracked tea cake and we want a smooth, pretty, tender, fluffy, picture-perfect tea cakes! Chill the dough. Cold dough is what you want! Chilling the dough will keep the tea cakes from spreading too much in the oven and getting all weird shaped.

Who made the original tea cakes? ›

Tea cakes were initially made by plantation cooks for the guest of white slave owners. These tea cakes, which Etha Robinson describes as rustic approximations of European teacakes1, were typically made with simple ingredients such as sugar, molasses, eggs, and vanilla when available.

How do you keep tea cakes fresh? ›

Store the tea under normal room temperature. Do not store it in the fridge, because the environment will be too humid and the temperatures are too cold for proper aging. Also avoid direct sunlight as this will too much accelerate aging, negatively affecting the white tea leaf quality.

What's the difference between Tea Cake and regular cake? ›

Tea cakesare typically denser than sponge cakes as they contain more butter and are often made with a lower amount of rising agents like baking powder.

Why is my cake not moist enough? ›

A dry cake is usually the result of one of the following pitfalls: using the wrong ingredients, making mistakes while measuring or mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high a temperature. Once you understand which common cake-baking blunders to avoid, you'll know how to bake a moist cake every time.

How do I stop my cake from being dry? ›

Using an air-tight container is the best and easiest way to keep your cake from getting exposed to air. However, if you don't have one of those, you can wrap your cake in cling film, or if it's iced, place a large inverted bowl over it to trap the air.

What's another name for tea cakes? ›

In Kent, the teacake is known as a "huffkin", which is often flavoured with hops, especially at the time of harvesting hops in September. In Sussex, a luxurious version of the teacake with added aromatics such as nutmeg, cinnamon and rose water is still sometimes made and called a manchet or Lady Arundel's Manchet.

Is Tea Cake African American? ›

Tea cakes are an integral part of African American food culture. Originating over 250 years ago, these cookies were a recipe passed down verbally through generations. In fact, one of America's earliest tea cakes were the Edenton Tea Party Cakes.

What is a British Tea Cake called? ›

Although they are widely known, tea cakes have not always gone by this name. They are referred to as currant buns or spiced buns in some regions of the UK. Similar baked goods have different names in other nations.

What is the white stuff in tea cakes? ›

The Tunnock's Teacake is a sweet food often served with a cup of tea or coffee. It was developed by Sir Boyd Tunnock in 1956. The product consists of a small round shortbread biscuit covered with a dome of Italian meringue, a whipped egg white concoction similar to marshmallow, although somewhat lighter in texture.

Do tea cakes go bad? ›

Though tea cakes don't spoil as rapidly as some other products, they show telling signs of going bad. If you notice any mold or unusual discoloration on your tea cake, it's better to toss it to be safe. Also, if it smells sour or off, don't consume it. A stale tea cake can be hard or extremely dry in texture.

What is the shelf life of tea cakes? ›

Tea Cakes and brownies have average shelf life of 3-4 days if kept outside in AC room, wheres in fridge they will last for around 10 days. Other items have long shelf life of 40-80days.

What is special about tea cake? ›

Tea cakes are soft roll-out cookies that are tender, chewy and pleasantly dense. They are a cookie with a cake-like texture. The ingredients are very simple (flour, sugar, butter, milk, nutmeg, and eggs), and the gentle flavor of nutmeg is what makes these so special.

When should I eat tea cakes? ›

Teacakes are not just for tea - While fruited teacakes are a classic accompaniment to a hot drink, they can be enjoyed in many different ways. For example, they can be used as a base for a delicious dessert, such as a teacake and butter pudding.

What is the classic wedding cake? ›

Usually, a large, white tiered cake, decorated mostly in white frosting, is called the bride's cake, and a second flavor choice is called the "groom's cake". This tradition was brought over from England by early American colonists, who considered the white-iced bride's cake too light for men's tastes.

How do you add moisture to a dry fruit cake? ›

Applying simple syrup is a technique that can rescue overbaked, dry cakes. You can apply it while the cake is still warm from the oven or leave it to cool. Brushing: Brush the syrup onto each layer of your cake. Poking Holes: Use a fork or toothpick to poke holes in the cake, then pour the syrup over the top.

How do you make a cake soft and spongy? ›

Tips for moist and fluffy sponge cake
  1. Make sure that the butter you use is not too cold. ...
  2. You want your cake to be pale yellow and fluffy. ...
  3. Cover your tin in baking paper, butter up the sides, top off with butter on the baking paper and bake up wonders, cook. ...
  4. Bake your prepared batter immediately when it is ready.

Why does my cake get hard after cooling? ›

The balance of ingredients in a cake recipe is crucial. Using too much flour or sugar relative to the liquid ingredients can lead to a dry and firm texture. It's essential to follow the recipe's precise measurements and ratios to achieve the desired results.

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