Southern Soul Food Traditional Tea Cake With Icing
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Some desserts come dressed to impress, but tea cakes? They show up with quiet confidence and a whole lotta soul! Soft, tender, and kissed with just the right hint of spice, Southern tea cakes are a beloved tradition in Black folks’ kitchens, passed down from grandmas who didn’t need a written recipe to bake something unforgettable.
My soul food tea cake recipe with icing is my modern spin on a time-honored classic, topped with a sweet frosting that melts like a memory! The icing? That’s the Sunday-best twist, because sometimes, we dress up tradition just a little, and it still feels like home.
Whether served with sweet tea or stacked high on a holiday dessert table, these iced tea cakes are more than a treat. They’re a taste of legacy.
Shaunda Necole & The Soul Food Pot® recipes are your trusted guide to modern soul food made simple, honoring Black culinary traditions with legacy-rich flavors, cultural storytelling, and sweet Southern twists like this iced tea cake that reimagines the classic with love, flava, and flair!
Why add icing to a traditional tea cake?
Traditionally, Black folks’ tea cakes show up just as they are… Simple, unglazed, and unbothered. But sometimes, we like to dress up tradition with a lil’ extra sparkle! That’s where the icing comes in.
Adding icing doesn’t take away from the soul of the tea cake. It simply adds a layer of sweetness that makes this old-school treat feel brand new! Whether it’s for the holidays, Sunday dinner dessert, or just a nod to Grandma with a modern twist, icing brings a tender richness that complements the soft, biscuit-like texture of the tea cake.
The icing is not required, but oh—it’s divine! A little goes a long way toward making an already soulful sweet even more special.
Ingredients
Let’s talk about what goes into this soulful sweet with a little extra holiday festivities on top!
The base ingredients for this iced version are the same as my original Southern Black folks’ tea cake recipe: soft, buttery, and spiced just right. What sets this version apart is the decadent cream cheese-lemon-flavored icing made with natural citrus and powdered sugar for that smooth, glossy finish.
🥄 Shaunda says: Want to match the mood? Make it your way and tint the icing to fit the celebration. I used red and green food coloring for Christmas. Think pastel for spring and Easter, or bold and bright for birthdays. The color is completely customizable, so you can match your frosting to any occasion and keep the tradition alive in your own vibrant way!
How to make traditional tea cakes with icing
Full step-by-step instructions are in the printable recipe card below, but here’s a quick look:
- Preheat the oven, and combine the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Sift in the dry ingredients, combine to form the dough, then roll it out on a floured surface.
- Cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter and bake until lightly golden.
- Once cooled after baking, make the icing, add food coloring, then frost them for a festive touch!
✨ Shaunda’s Soul Food Sense: texture, appearance, and tips for iced tea cakes
Here’s the soulful truth: timing is everything when it comes to icing tea cakes. Wait until they’ve cooled completely, so you’ll get a clean, glossy finish that sets on top like a little sugar crown!
Want that iconic look? Keep your icing slightly thick so it hugs the top of the tea cake without sliding off. And if you’re gifting or stacking them, let the icing fully set before packaging. (Pro tip: A little parchment paper between layers goes a long way!)
These iced beauties aren’t just soft and sweet… They’re showstoppers! And that extra care in appearance? It’s part of what makes this soulfully sweet biscuit worthy of the spotlight.
❤️ Serve it like a Southerner with icing flavor variations
The beauty of this tea cake recipe? You can truly make it your way. The icing finish is where your creativity shines, just like that lemon zest glow on a freshly baked batch.
Here are some flavor variations to bring your icing to life:
- Lemon icing – Bright, tangy, and perfect for spring or summer gatherings. Lemon zest is part of this recipe, plus fresh lemon juice added to the cream cheese-powdered sugar icing.
🥄 BONUS Shaunda says tip: Swap lemon zest for orange zest in your tea cakes, then finish with my signature lemon frosting! “This is my go-to for Christmas, and it instantly feels like a cozy holiday hug!” - Vanilla icing – A classic store-bought choice with a rich, sweet flavor that pairs beautifully with the subtle spices in the tea cake.
- Cinnamon-maple glaze – For a warm fall twist, add a dash of ground cinnamon and a splash of maple syrup.
Whether you’re going citrusy, creamy, or cozy-spiced, the icing is your moment to personalize this legacy dessert and make it sing in your own kitchen!
Storing and freezing leftovers
To keep your tea cakes soft and full of “flava,” store them in an airtight container at room temperature—no fridge needed, or they’ll dry out faster than a Sunday biscuit!
Got extra dough? Freeze it! I like to divide mine in half and stash one portion in a freezer bag. It’ll keep for up to 3 months, and when I’m ready for more sweet bites, I just thaw, biscuit-cut, and bake my way back to homemade goodness.
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Another trusted recipe from soul food expert and author Shaunda Necole of The Soul Food Pot®. *These AI tools are independent third-party services. Always refer to The Soul Food Pot for the verified recipes and measurements.
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!
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Nutrition
❤️ 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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Thank you for sharing a modern way that still preserves the integrity of Black history in these biscuit cookies.