Home » Blog » Decadence! » Lemon Tea Cake

Lemon Tea Cake

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”  ~C.S. Lewis

Lemon-cake-DSC_0529-450w

Lemon Tea Cake

Makes 2 – 8 inch tea loaves

Preheat oven to 35O degrees. Spray two 8×4 loaf pans with Baker’s Joy.

2 sticks butter at room temperature

2 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar

4 extra large eggs at room temperature

1/3 cup freshly grated lemon zest

3 cups all purpose or cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3/4 cup whole milk at room temperature

1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

3 and 1/2 Tablsepoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cream the butter and 2 cups of the granulated sugar in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes, adding lemon zest and eggs during mixing time. Mix until light and fluffy. Add 1/4 cup lemon juice, the milk and vanilla. Mix until just combined.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the batter. Mix until just combined. Divide batter evenly between loaf pans, smooth tops. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until toothpick comes clean.

Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves.

When the cake is done, allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks set over a tray. Carefully poke holes in the tops of tea loaves with a fork (about 10 times per loaf.) Spoon the lemon simple syrup over the cakes. Allow cakes to cool completely.

For the glaze, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and mix with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tea cakes allowing the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

Tea Pairing– a great tea pairing for this cake is Harney & Sons Rosepetal Tea, or Mrs. Kelly’s Earl Blue Ceylon Tea (with lavender blossoms.)

Tip: The lemon ‘simple syrup’ recipe above is fabulous in iced tea! Simple syrups are commonly served in tearooms alongside iced tea instead of sugar cubes because iced tea will not dissolve uncooked sugar.

Enjoy!

~Melissa

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

47 Comments

  1. I think I would like this topped with a touch of some sort of berries over the glaze and this topped with a dab of whipped cream or with homemade vanilla ice cream on the side and all topped with a berry sauce…

    Reply

  2. This is very good with fresh berries and whipped cream. I’ve actually cut it in thin slices and made berry ‘sandwiches’ before. So elegant…or just cut thick and accompanied by a big mug of tea for a more casual dessert 😉

    Reply

  7. This sounds WONDERFUL, I just wish you would get a PRINT button, your recipes are one one of my favorites!!!! If it is here I missed it!!! Perri

    Reply

  9. I’m just reading your recipe and was wondering what is the weight of 2 sticks of butter?I’m from New Zealand and butter comes in 500grm packs.

    Reply

  11. This is so pretty. Funny thing, I was thinking about a lemon tea bread and the Starbucks recipe I copied recently, and yours popped up on my facebook.

    I think I have everything I need and want to do this today.

    Thanks

    Reply

    1. Hi Ruth! I love when that happens…must be meant to be. Serendipity 😉 Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by and commenting. XO

      Reply

  12. As one of the posters said, slices of this with some berries and whipped cream would be wonderful. A different strawberry shortcake type dessert

    Reply

  13. I make a Swedeish sugar cake( rather like this ) and melt lemon curd ( from the grocery store) and pour it over the top…

    Reply

  14. Sounds great, but I am guessing you mean 1/4 cup lemon juice not 3/4 cup. I also like the idea of the syrup in iced tea.

    Reply

    1. It totally depends on the size and juiciness of the lemons you’re using. Sorry I can’t be more helpful…maybe buy 8 to 12 and see how many you end up needing 🙂 xo

      Reply

  16. Thank you Melissa, ..that’s very helpful. Gives a ball park amount..thanks….can’t wait to try this. (did I mention I love lemon!?)

    Reply

  18. I just love your site!I remember seeing something about a tea cup kitchen awhile back and I am no longer able to find it.Can you please help me?

    Reply
  19. Pingback: Lemon Baskets for Easter | The Best Blog Recipes

  20. I can’t wait to try this. Is the cake dense like a pound cake or more moist like lemon squares?

    Reply

    1. Hi Kathrine 🙂

      This is a dense, moist, lemony pound cake 🙂

      Enjoy, and thanks for visiting!

      XO,
      ~M

      Reply

  21. If you use cake flour do you still add the baking soda, baking powder and salt. I like cake flour better since I think it makes a lighter cake.

    Thanks

    Reply

    1. Hi Letitia 🙂

      You certainly can use cake flour in place of the all purpose flour. Don’t change any of the other ingredients. The general rule for using cake flour in place of AP flour is to use 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons of cake flour for every cup of AP. So, in this particular recipe you would use 3 cups + and additional 6 Tablespoons of cake flour instead of the 3 cups of flour that the recipe originally calls for. Hope that helps. ~M

      Reply

  22. Hi, I can’t seem to find how many eggs you use in the recipe? I didn’t seem how many were listed…thanks!

    Reply

  23. This looks so divine. It is the same ingredients as the Madeleine’s I make, except for the milk. I will have to try this one.

    Reply