Best 8 Old Timey Southern Tea Cakes Recipes
Southern tea cakes, also known as buttermilk tea cakes, are a delicious and nostalgic treat that has been enjoyed for generations. These tender, crumbly cakes are flavored with a hint of lemon and nutmeg, and they are the perfect accompaniment to a cup of hot tea or coffee. The history of Southern tea cakes is a long and storied one, dating back to the early days of American settlement. The cakes were originally made with simple ingredients like flour, sugar, butter, and buttermilk, and they were often flavored with whatever spices or flavorings were available. Today, there are many variations on the classic Southern tea cake recipe, but they all share the same basic ingredients and techniques.
Let's cook with our recipes!
OLD FASHIONED TEA CAKES
These Old Fashioned Tea Cakes are simply irresistible.
Provided by Lynda
Categories Desserts
Time 40m
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- 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 Facts : Calories 253 kcal, Carbohydrate 42 g, Protein 4 g, Cholesterol 18 mg, Sodium 42 mg, Sugar 22 g, ServingSize 1 serving
DEEP SOUTH OLD FASHIONED TEA CAKES
Steps:
- In a large bowl cream together butter and shortening until creamy.
- Mix in sugar until well combined.
- Mix in egg.
- Mix in lemon zest and vanilla bean paste. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk.
- Turn dough onto a smooth surface and knead until dough is soft.
- Shape into a disk and cover with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour (or freeze for 30 minutes)
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Remove dough from fridge and plastic wrap.
- Knead dough to soften it.
- Roll dough to 1/4-inch thick.( I rolled the dough on parchment to prevent sticking)
- Use a round cookie cutter to cut out circle shapes.
- Place cookies on prepared pan about 2 inches apart. (see note)
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until bottoms are lightly golden. (see note)
- Remove from pan and place on cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Once cooled store in airtight container.
OLD FASHIONED TEA CAKE
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 scarcity-both 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 don't 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.
Provided by Micah A Leal
Categories Cakes
Time 1h35m
Yield 12 tea cakes
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Combine flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to mix.
- Scatter butter across surface. Pulse until butter is completely incorporated into dry ingredients. Add buttermilk and pulse a few times until the dough clumps together. Gather dough, barely kneading until you can shape the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. On a well floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll dough into a 1/4-inch thick circle. Use a 3-inch round cutter to punch out circles from the dough; transfer circles to prepared baking sheet. Reroll scraps and cut out additional circles.
- Bake until tea cakes have puffed slightly and barely take on color, 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before removing from baking sheet.
OLD TIMEY SOUTHERN TEA CAKES RECIPE - (4.2/5)
Provided by msippigrl
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Prepare a lightly floured work surface. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it. Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl and using a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and whisked eggs until creamy. Beat in the vanilla, milk, and flour mixture until well blended, adding another tablespoon of milk if needed for the dough to come together. Dump dough onto the floured surface, sprinkle flour over dough then roll out to about 1/4-inch thick, or a little thicker. Cut dough out with a 3" cookie or biscuit cutter - OR roll into 1 1/2" balls. Place on baking sheet. Bake for about 13-15 minutes (balls may take a bit longer), or just until bottoms are very lightly browned. Let cool on pan for 1 minute then remove tea cakes to a wire cooling rack. If desired, while they are still hot, dip the tops in sugar.
SOUTHERN TEA CAKES
There were nine children in our family and Mother had to stretch the budget, so she made these often for dessert. I loved them when I was a child, and they're still a special treat. In fact, I've never met anyone who doesn't like these cookies. They're so simple and quick to make.
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 30m
Yield about 3 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- In a bowl, cream together shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs. Add milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir in flour; mix well. , Drop by tablespoonfuls 2-1/2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 252 calories, Fat 11g fat (3g saturated fat), Cholesterol 25mg cholesterol, Sodium 251mg sodium, Carbohydrate 34g carbohydrate (19g sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 3g protein.
GRANDMA'S OLD FASHIONED TEA CAKES
A soft teacake that is best when one to two days old. You can change flavors by substituting almond or lemon extract for the vanilla. Add a few drop of food coloring to dress up the dough for special occasions.
Provided by RGA
Categories Desserts Cookies Sugar Cookies
Time 53m
Yield 24
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; stir into the creamed mixture. Knead dough for a few turnns on a floured board until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until firm.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 187.8 calories, Carbohydrate 26.6 g, Cholesterol 35.8 mg, Fat 8.3 g, Fiber 0.4 g, Protein 2.2 g, SaturatedFat 5 g, Sodium 135.3 mg, Sugar 14.7 g
OLD TIMEY TEA CAKES
Make and share this Old Timey Tea Cakes recipe from Food.com.
Provided by Nancy Sneed
Categories Drop Cookies
Time 22m
Yield 5 dozen teacakes
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Cream margarine and sugar together well.
- Add eggs; cream well.
- Sift all dry ingredients together.
- Stir in dry ingredients and vanilla extract.
- Mix well.
- Drop by teaspoons.
- onto a greased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 375 degrees until done.
- Remove from cookie sheet.
- Cool then store in a tin or airtight container.
GRANDMOTHER'S OLD-TIME TEA CAKES
My grandmother would always have a plastic tub of these cookies waiting for us when we would come to visit. This is a very old Southern recipe--my grandmother cooked for many years with a wood-burning stove, so the baking temperature is approximate. You may need to adjust the temperature up or down, depending upon your oven. Of all the wonderful things that she made, these were the best! They are great with milk or coffee, and they are a much-loved family favorite.
Provided by gijoni
Categories Dessert
Time 35m
Yield 15 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Mix shortening and sugar together with pastry blender or two forks.
- Combine eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Stir wet ingredients into shortening/sugar mixture.
- Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder together.
- Sift dry ingredients in with wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Dough should be the correct consistancy to roll, so you may need to add or decrease the dry ingredients as necessary.
- Place dough on lightly floured board or pastry cloth and roll out to approximately 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut cookies with round cookie cutter (my grandmother used a 2-inch biscuit cutter) and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes until just beginning to brown. Don't overcook!
- Store in a covered tin or plastic container.
Tips:
- Use room temperature ingredients. This will help your cakes bake evenly and prevent them from becoming dry.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This will incorporate air into the batter and make your cakes tender and moist.
- Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. This will help prevent the batter from curdling.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter. Overmixing can make your cakes tough.
- Bake the cakes in a preheated oven. This will help prevent them from sinking in the middle.
- Let the cakes cool completely before frosting them. This will help prevent the frosting from melting.
- Store the cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Conclusion:
Old-timey Southern tea cakes are a delicious and easy-to-make treat that are perfect for any occasion. With their simple ingredients and classic flavor, these cakes are sure to be a hit with everyone. So next time you're looking for a sweet and satisfying snack, give these tea cakes a try. You won't be disappointed!
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