Servings: 36 tea cakes
Calories: 139kcal
Equipment
- Electric or stand mixer with a mixing bowl
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
Ingredients for the tea cakes
- 4 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 cup more for rolling the dough (I used all-purpose flour, but you could also use cake flour)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup butter unsalted and softened
- 1 cup sugar granulated
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
Ingredients for the tea cake icing
- 8 oz cream cheese softened, or preferably whipped cream cheese
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3-4 drops food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for about 2 minutes until creamy.
- Add the egg, lemon zest, sour cream, mayonnaise, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract.
- Mix until well blended to make the tea cake batter.
- Sift together the remaining dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg over a sheet of parchment paper large enough to fit your baking sheet.
- Fold the parchment paper to pour the sifted flour mixture into the tea cake batter and then mix again.
- Add the batter to a lightly floured surface and roll the dough to approx ¼ inch thickness. This is where the extra cup of flour will come in handy to help with rolling because the dough is sticky!
- Cut out the tea cakes with a 2 ½" up to 3″ biscuit cutter. (I used a 2 ¾” biscuit cutter.)
- Place the rounds onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet about one inch apart. (You may need to bake more than 1 batch if all your rounds don’t fit on your baking sheet.)
- Bake until light brown for 5-6 minutes in the oven—but don’t let them get too brown! (Tea cakes don’t take long to bake, so keep a close eye on them to avoid burning! Like a biscuit, you want them firm on the outside and fluffy on the inside.)
- When the tea cakes are finished baking and while they are cooling, place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Then, reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar and lemon juice.
- Once the ingredients are well combined, increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
- Once the icing is smooth, add 3-4 drops of your choice of festive food coloring and mix until the color is evenly blended. Add more drops of color to achieve your desired hue.
- Use a small spatula or spoon to drop a dollop of icing onto each cooled tea cake and spread it. For a picture-perfect look, I like to keep my icing slightly thick so it hugs the top of the tea cake without sliding off. Then serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 97mg | Potassium: 53mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1mg
❤️ Why trust this recipe?
Created + tested by Shaunda Necole, creator of The Soul Food Pot® (real cook, real kitchen). Rooted in African American culinary traditions, with modern shortcuts that don’t sacrifice flavor or legacy. No AI-generated instructions — measurements, timing, and techniques are written, cooked, and verified by Shaunda. Make-it-your-way guidance included, so you can cook confidently with the tools you have.
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