Name: Tea Cakes
Yield: Makes about 2 dozen tea cakes
Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg; 1 stick (4 ounces) butter, at room temperature; 1 cup sugar; 2 large eggs; ¼ cup buttermilk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Round cookies lined up in an antique Mrs. Bethune's tin.

Photo by Jerrelle Guy

A tender cross between pound cake and shortbread, as Heidi Haughy Cusick described them in her 1995 cookbook, Soul and Spice, tea cakes are not as sweet as sugar cookies and less fluffy than madeleines (the French tea cakes shaped like a scallop shell). They show up in black cookbooks—a lot.

Through the history of this recipe, I found the combination of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour usually flavored one of three ways. A hint of nutmeg seemed essential for some, while modern interpretations add a bit of citrus zest or extract. Cooks without access to spices baked plain dough, enriched with whole milk, evaporated milk, buttermilk, or sour cream.

With reverence for the old ways, and pulling from several recipes, here is my rendition of tea cakes, with baking powder added for a little extra lift. You can personalize them, too, substituting a pinch of cinnamon, allspice, or mace for the nutmeg or sour cream for the buttermilk.

Recipe information

Yield
Makes about 2 dozen tea cakes

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg

1 stick (4 ounces) butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

¼ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Preparation

Step 1
In a bowl, whisk together the flour,baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
Step 2
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, then beat in the buttermilk and vanilla.
Step 3
Gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until smooth and well blended. Divide the dough in half. Flatten each half into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled and slightly stiff, at least 1 hour, but overnight ideally.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 5
On a lightly floured surface, working with one portion at a time, roll the dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Cut with a floured 1½-inch round biscuit cutter. Gather the scraps, reroll, and cut again. Sprinkle lightly with demerara sugar. Transfer the tea cakes to the baking sheets and space them about 1 inch apart.
Step 6
Bake until the tea cakes are lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on the pan for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The tea cakes will keep for about 2 weeks in an airtight container.

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Reprinted with permission from Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin, copyright © 2019. Photographs by Jerrelle Guy. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Buy the full book from Amazon.