Old Fashioned Tea Cake Recipe

Recipe By Southern Living

Fluffy, buttery, and shockingly tender, old fashioned tea cakes are more akin to a crossover between a biscuit and a cookie than they are to a cake. Like many of our oldest recipes, tea cakes were created out of scarcityboth in ingredients and time. Rather than the time consuming yeasted breads made for holidays or the intricate (and expensive) pastries made for celebrations like weddings and birthdays, tea cakes were more of an everyday treat to be enjoyed with a cup of tea. But seventy years ago, treats regularly baked to stock the cupboard for a surprise visit had to be made without requiring a great deal of time and without depleting the pantry of its resources. The tea cake took very little time to make and called for ingredients already laying around the kitchens of our great grandparents. While they may look like cookies, they certainly dont taste like them. Tea cakes contain much less sugar than a conventional cookie, and the main liquid ingredient is buttermilk, giving a slightly savory edge to an already mildly sweet pastry. At their most basic, tea cakes are simply flour and sugar combined with butter and buttermilk. Flavors like vanilla, cinnamon, or lemon are regularly used to add a touch of flair to the otherwise simple cakes. Our recipe calls for the zest of one lemon, adding just the right hint of citrus to the buttery tea cake.

4.9
16 Rating -
Rate
Vegdiet
1hr 35minstotal
1hr 35m.total
Old Fashioned Tea Cake
plan
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ingredients serve

Ingredients for Old Fashioned Tea Cake Recipe

  • 0.11 cup All purpose flour
  • 0.03 cup Granulated sugar
  • 0.17 teaspoon Fresh Lemon Zest
  • 1/50 teaspoon Baking powder
  • 1/50 teaspoon Baking soda
  • 1/100 teaspoon Salt
  • 0.67 tablespoon Cold unsalted butter, cubed
Nutrition
value
51
calories per serving
2 g Fat2 g Protein7 g Carbs< 1 g FiberOther

Current Totals

  • Fat
    2g
  • Protein
    2g
  • Carbs
    7g
  • Fiber
    < 1g

MacroNutrients

  • Carbs
    7g
  • Protein
    2g
  • Fiber
    < 1g

Fats

  • Fat
    2g

Vitamins & Minerals

  • Calcium
    70mg
  • Iron
    < 1mg
  • Vitamin A
    3mcg
  • Vitamin B1
    < 1mg
  • Vitamin B2
    < 1mg
  • Vitamin B3
    < 1mg
  • Vitamin B6
    < 1mg
  • Vitamin B9
    7mcg
  • Vitamin B12
    < 1mcg
  • Vitamin C
    2mg
  • Vitamin E
    < 1mg
  • Copper
    < 1mcg
  • Magnesium
    10mg
  • Manganese
    < 1mg
  • Phosphorus
    60mg
  • Selenium
    2mcg
  • Zinc
    < 1mg
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. All nutritional information presented are estimates and not meant to substitute professional dietary advice or treatment
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Recipe By Southern Living