Southern Tea Cakes

Moist, dense and tender Southern Tea Cakes topped with a delicious almond and vanilla glaze.

There is nothing little about these Southern Tea Cakes. It can be hard to tell scale in photographs but these tea cakes are massive. They are also delicious, rich and tender. Don’t think of a traditional puffy, fluffy cake. These Southern Tea Cakes are very moist and dense.

My favorite ingredients for Southern Tea Cakes

The original recipe from Cookies and Cups calls for the seeds from a vanilla bean pod. I went a different route and skipped the seeds and used Almond Bakery Emulsion. I have found emulsions to have a better, less fake and harsh flavor than extracts. They say you can use them 1:1 for extracts, but I would be careful for very strong flavors, like almond. I think they are a bit more potent so for almond I reduce the amount just a little bit.

I love the LorAnn Oils line of baking emulsions. We’ve used Princess Cake and Cookie Flavor, and Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor in other baked goods and they were both great. I pick mine up at Michael’s crafts store.

Recommended Southern Baking Recipes

Classic Southern Orange Slice Cake

Chocolate Sheet Cake Cookies

Mississippi Mud Brownies

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Southern Tea Cakes

Moist, dense and tender Southern Tea Cakes topped with a delicious almond and vanilla glaze.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 12 mins

Total Time 27 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 15 cookies

Calories 325 kcal

Equipment

• Parchment Paper Sheets
• Baking Sheet

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Tea Cakes:

• 1 cup butter room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups flour

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 Tbsp milk
• 1/8 tsp. LorAnn Oils Almond Bakery Emulsion or Almond Extract
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350° f.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Set aside.
• In bowl of stand mixer beat butter and sugar together for 1 minute until mixed. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated, scraping sides as necessary.
• Add in baking powder and salt, continuing to mix and finally the flour. Mix until dough just comes together.
• Form dough into 2 inch balls and place on lined baking sheet.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes until slightly golden. Don’t over-bake.
• Allow to cool on wire rack while preparing your glaze
• For glaze whisk ingredients all together in a bowl. Pour directly over the tea cakes.
• Allow glaze to set before eating.

Nutrition

Calories: 325kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 4gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 253mgPotassium: 44mgFiber: 1gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 415IUCalcium: 46mgIron: 1mg

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Slightly adapted from Cookies and Cups.

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