Russian Tea Cakes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is special about tea cake? ›

Tea cakes are soft roll-out cookies that are tender, chewy and pleasantly dense. They are a cookie with a cake-like texture. The ingredients are very simple (flour, sugar, butter, milk, nutmeg, and eggs), and the gentle flavor of nutmeg is what makes these so special.

Some have speculated the recipes either derived from other Eastern European shortbread cookies, may have migrated to Mexico with European nuns, or may have been associated with cookies served beside Russian samovars (tea urns).

Tea cakesare typically denser than sponge cakes as they contain more butter and are often made with a lower amount of rising agents like baking powder.

Traditional tea in Russia includes the traditional type known as Russian Caravan as it was originally imported from China via camel caravan. As the trip was very long, usually taking as long as sixteen to eighteen months, the tea acquired its distinctive smoky flavor from the caravan's campfires.

samovar, metal urn, often of brass, with a spigot near its base, widely used in Russia to boil water for tea. In traditional samovars water is heated by means of a vertical tube, containing burning charcoal, running up the middle of the urn. A filled teapot is set atop the chimney to steep.

The Tunnock's Teacake is a sweet food often served with a cup of tea or coffee. It was developed by Sir Boyd Tunnock in 1956. The product consists of a small round shortbread biscuit covered with a dome of Italian meringue, a whipped egg white concoction similar to marshmallow, although somewhat lighter in texture.

Tea cakes were initially made by plantation cooks for the guest of white slave owners. These tea cakes, which Etha Robinson describes as rustic approximations of European teacakes¹, were typically made with simple ingredients such as sugar, molasses, eggs, and vanilla when available.

Although they are widely known, tea cakes have not always gone by this name. They are referred to as currant buns or spiced buns in some regions of the UK. Similar baked goods have different names in other nations.

There is an interesting legend of how the Russian cake got its name. The story goes that a New Orleans baker made it because he ran out of ingredients to bake a proper cake for the visit of the Russian Grand Duke Alexis when he visited the city in 1872 for Mardi Gras.

Russian Cake is prepared by mixing our almond cake, gold cake and devil's food cake with raspberry jelly, rum flavor and a hint of anise oil (licorice flavor). It is then topped with buttercream and nonpareils (aka sprinkles).

What is a tea cake china? ›

Tea cakes are often misunderstood as those cakes that you consume as sides with your tea or any other beverage. However, tea cakes are compressed tea leaves given the firm shape of a cake with certain aromas and flavors. These are quite popular, even more than loose tea leaves in some regions of china and japan.

History of the Tea Cake

Tea cakes are an integral part of African American food culture. Originating over 250 years ago, these cookies were a recipe passed down verbally through generations.

Don't overbake! This is probably the most important tip when it comes to keeping cakes nice and moist. If your batter is left in the oven too long the heat can cause the ingredients to become dry and crumbly. If you're a serial over-baker, investing in an oven thermometer can keep you on the straight and narrow.

Tea cakes can trace their origin back to Great Britain where “afternoon tea” is still a part of everyday life. Afternoon tea began in the 1840s as a tradition of having a tea in the afternoons as a way to stave off hunger until the dinner meal was served.

Traditionally, these digestive aid biscuits were made with whole grain flour, vegetable oil, baking soda, sugar, and malt extract. While this recipe has certainly stood the test of time, I'm a firm believer that every baked good tastes better with butter, so I substitute it for the vegetable oil.

Butter, sugar, flour, baking soda and vanilla make thin, cookie like layers of Medovik. They are softened with a cream filling that is one part whipping cream and one part sour cream mixed with sugar and vanilla. Sometimes a filling made with butter and sweetened condensed milk is used.

What is Russian Caravan tea made of? Russian Caravan is made by combining roughly equal parts of Lapsang Souchong and a classic black tea like China Keemun. Russian Caravan is typically slightly lighter and mellower than Lapsang, with the smoky notes balanced out by crisp, classic black tea.

Originating as the classic Quaker jumble more than 250 years ago, the tea cake morphed into its pillowy, wonderful self once baking soda and baking powder came along. Early tea cakes went by names like Jackson Jumbles and Democratic Tea Cakes, powerful monikers for a cookie.