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25 Old Fashioned Tea Cake Recipes 

These dainty and delicious old fashioned tea cake recipes are perfect for brunch and more. There’s nothing quite like a piping hot cup of your favorite tea and a sweet treat alongside it! This list has everything from traditional English biscuits to fancy French pastry, and more modern ones like cherry limeade poke cake. 

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Dainty Treat Recipes 

These recipes will quickly show you that bigger isn’t always better. These small and dainty treat recipes may be small but they definitely do not lack in flavor.

  1. Orange Cranberry Coffee Cake 

Orange Cranberry Coffee Cake is lovely and delightful for a tea time brunch. This recipe takes 45 minutes total to whip up. You will need a mixer, mixing bowls, a rubber spatula, parchment paper, and an 8 X 8-inch baking pan.

square of orange cranberry coffee cake on white plate
  1. Pear & Raspberry Cake 

This old fashioned tea cake recipe needs butter to add flavor and give the cake a tender texture. You also need superfine/caster sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder, almond milk, pears, raspberries, almond flakes, and whip cream.

cut pear and raspberry cake with one slice on white plate
  1. French Financiers

Easy French Financiers are delicate almond cakes with browned butter that everyone will love. You can make this dessert in 25 minutes flat. You will need unsalted butter, powdered sugar, almond flour, regular flour, egg whites, vanilla, salt, baking powder, and raspberries.

French financiers on white plate with raspberries on top
  1. Butter Cake 

Butter cake takes a little under an hour to make. It will cost about $4 total and result in 6 servings. All you need is an oven and some common pantry staples like eggs, baking powder, sugar, flour, butter, cream cheese, and milk. 

butter cake loaf with one slice cut on white rectangle serving tray
  1. Pandan Cake 

Pandan cake is a beautiful old fashioned tea cake recipe. You can expect a fluffy light variation of chiffon cake. Key Ingredients include pandan extract and coconut milk. This is a popular dessert in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, China and Hong Kong. 

pandan cake with green inside and raspberries and blueberries on top
  1. Cherry Limeade Poke 

Cherry Limeade Poke Cake will really impress a crowd for a brunch or tea party. It is a moist and soft yellow cake topped with cherries cooked in lime juice and lime flavored light whipped topping!

close up of cherry limeade poke cake with lime and cut cherry on top

Mini Portions Of Old Fashioned Tea Cakes

These small and classic tea cakes are a great snack any time of day. These sweet treats are also perfect to enjoy as a light dessert.  With so many different variations of Old Fashioned Mini Tea Cakes, you’ll never get bored of them. 

  1. Heart Lava Cake 

Molten lava cake is also known as fondant cake and it’s a popular soufflé dessert with a liquid hot center. It originates from France called the “moelleux au chocolat” which translates to soft cake with chocolate. 

heart cake on blue plate with strawberry hearts on side
  1. Mini Blueberry Cakes 

If you’re looking for a blueberry flavored old fashioned tea cake recipe look no further. You can expect a light and airy sponge type cake with white chocolate cream cheese frosting and blueberry Jam. 

mini blueberry cakes with multiple flavors and blueberries and raspberries on top
  1. Pumpkin Minis With Streusel 

Pumpkin mini cakes with cinnamon streusel topping are perfect for tea or brunch. They are cute little personal portions that everyone will love. Key ingredients include cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, sugar, Greek yogurt, pumpkin purée, and chopped pecans. 

mini pumpkin cakes with crumble and icing on top
  1. Mini Cannoli Cheesecakes 

Everyone will love mini cannoli cheesecakes with a slight hint of orange and covered with chocolate chips. This recipe makes 12 servings With ingredients like waffle cones, butter, vanilla, cream cheese, sour cream, corn starch, sugar, and a few other pantry staples. 

mini cannoli cheesecake with sides covered in chocolate chips
  1. Lemon Coconut Minis 

Lemon coconut mini cakes are perfect with a cup of tea or a latte. They are soft with a bit of coconut and lemon glaze. This recipe makes 12 portions with easy ingredients like coconut milk, vanilla, cake flour, salt, sugar, butter, lemon, and a few other items.

close up of mini lemon coconut cakes with coconut flakes and icing on top

Cake Bar Recipes

What is better than a normal cake? Cake bars! They’re so much easier to to cut than your regular count cakes. They’re also perfect snacks to take to a bake sale or to enjoy at any get together or party. 

  1. Cranberry Lemon Bars 

Cake bars make the best old fashioned tea cake recipes like this one with cranberry and lemon. They are hassle free and quick to prepare. The triple layers are out of this world delicious with a sweet and tangy taste and a meringue layer that will knock your socks off.

stack of cranberry lemon bars on white plate
  1. Lemon Bar Shortbread

When you make these lemon bar shortbread cakes it’s important to let your pan cool on the countertop for 15 to 20 minutes. You can also make storage easier by using a glass pan with a lid. The author recommends using fresh lemons over the bottle. 

lemon bar shortbread cakes covered in powdered sugar
  1. Strawberry Shortcake 

Strawberry shortcakes are 100% homemade with no processed sugars or preservatives. So if you’re looking for a dessert that is gluten free, vegan, allergy free, and oil free look no further. 

strawberry shortcake covered in whipped cream and strawberries
  1. Cherry Oatmeal Bars 

Cherry oatmeal cake bars are easy to make and perfect for any day of the week. They store well in Tupperware and are freezer friendly. You can easily use regular flour or gluten free flour blends. 

close up of cherry oatmeal bars
  1. Churro Bars 

Churro bars are absolutely scrumptious and made with easy ingredients. You can expect a lovely creamy texture and a delicious cheesecake taste. All you need is butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, salt, flour, sugar, and ground cinnamon. 

stack of churro bars on white serving plate

Traditional Tea Cakes

Traditional Tea Cakes originated in Britain to only serve with afternoon tea. These delicious cakes have quickly turned into a snack that is enjoyed all day long. These “cakes” are more like cookies and pair well with most cold and hot drinks. 

  1. Old Fashioned Tea Cakes 

These southern tea cakes are the traditional version of the recipe. They have a sweet pastry taste and texture that makes them the popular treat that they are. You will need high quality butter for optimal results. 

old fashioned tea cakes with spices on top on serving plate
  1. Lemon Shrewsbury Biscuits 

You will love lemon English cookies because they are made with five basic ingredients. For example you will need castor sugar which is also called ultrafine sugar. It is simply ground down granulated sugar that’s perfect for baking. 

white serving tray full of lemon shrewsbury biscuits and lemon slices
  1. Russian Tea Cakes 

Russian tea cakes are traditional and lovely plus they look like tiny snowballs. You can whip these up in less than an hour which includes cleanup time. Plus you can make them ahead of time as they will stay good for one to two weeks in an airtight container. 

tin container full of Russian tea cakes covered in powdered sugar and Christmas ornament on side
  1. French Tea Cakes 

French Financiers are the best old fashioned tea cakes. This recipe certainly will not disappoint either. This recipe can be made with various flavors like Stasio, hazelnut, and almond. 

close up of stack of French tea cakes with chopped nuts on top

Cup Cakes For Tea Time 

Who doesn’t love a good cupcake? Full of delicious flavor packed into one small cake, talk about delicious. These cupcake recipes are delicious and easy to make. Whether you want a bold flavor, a fruit flavor or a more subtile flavor, I’ve got the perfect recipe for you below.

  1. Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes 

Pineapple upside down cupcakes are absolutely superb with caramelized pineapple and other delicious converse. They are easy to bake from scratch and have an easy clean up method. It’s best to use nonstick cupcake molds! 

mini pineapple upside down cakes with cherry on top
  1. Earl Grey Cupcakes 

Lemon cupcakes with Earl Grey frosting will put a smile on everyone’s face. The ricotta cheese ingredient creates the fluffiest texture that’s spongy and firm. They are not overly sweet but rather well balanced and fun. 

easy grey cupcakes with creamy icing and sprinkle decorations
  1. Cinnamon Cupcakes 

Vanilla cupcakes with cinnamon swirl inside and delicious buttercream frosting are perfect for a crowd. You will need unsalted butter softened to room temperature as well as superfine granulated sugar or castor sugar. Other ingredients include eggs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, a pinch of salt, and sour cream. 

close up of the middle of a cinnamon cupcake
  1. Tres Leche Cupcakes 

Serve up some Tres Leche cupcakes using yellow cake mix, eggs milk, and vanilla extract. For the delicious milk mixture you will need sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy whipping cream.  You will also need powdered sugar, ground cinnamon, and fresh sliced strawberries.

tres leche cupcake with silver wrapper, white living and strawberry on top
  1. Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes Recipe

Try some orange Creamsicle cupcakes for your old fashion tea cake recipe idea. You don’t need cupcake liners all you have to do is spray the pan with nonstick spray. They are fun to decorate with small orange wedges, orange sprinkles, orange straws, flowers, or candied orange slices. 

orange creamsicle cupcakes with white and blue striped cup and white icing
What is a tea cake in the UK versus America? 

In the UK a traditional tea cake is a yeast-based sweet bun that is light and airy. It usually contains dried fruit and is served toasted with butter. However, in the US a tea cake can be anything from cookies to small or light cake. 

You may also enjoy: 25 Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie Recipes, Old Fashioned Butter Almond Cookie Recipe, and Vintage Style Breakfast Coffee Cake Recipe.

Now you are ready for teatime and brunch with all these old fashioned tea cake recipes. From minis to cups and everything in between, indulge your sweet tooth once in a while! 

Old Fashioned Tea Cake Recipes Pinterest Pin
You can’t go wrong with an old-fashioned tea cake recipe with a cup of earl Grey or even a latte. From English biscuits to French pastry etc
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