Teacake
Encyclopedia
This article is about a type of bread
or cake
. Tea cake can also be used to describe Compressed tea. For the chocolate-covered teacake, see Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats.
A teacake is a light yeast-based sweet bun containing dried fruit, typically served toasted and buttered.
or Marmite
.
In other parts of England, a teacake is a light, sweet, yeast
-based bun
containing dried fruits, most usually currants
, sultanas
or peel
. It is typically split, toasted, buttered, and served with tea
. It is flat and circular, with a smooth brown upper surface and a somewhat lighter underside. Although most people refer to a tea cake as a cake containing fruit, in East Lancashire, certain areas of Yorkshire
and Cumbria
the name currant teacake is used to distinguish fruited 'cakes' from plain bread rolls. In west Yorkshire, a large plain white or brown teacake 9 inches or 225 mm diameter is usually called a breadcake and is used to make very large sandwiches. Many cafes sell these for breakfast or midmorning snacks. In Kent
, the tea cake is known as a "huffkin", which is often flavoured with hops, especially at the time of harvesting hops
in September. In Sussex, a luxurious version of the tea cake with added aromatics such as nutmeg, cinamon and rose water is still sometimes made and called a manchet
or Lady Arundel's Manchet
. In North East England, areas of Newcastle Upon Tyne and Northumberland, some teacakes are called "Singing Hinnies" due to the addition of a glaze.
, the word for teacake (tekaka) refers to a sweetened wheat soda bread
, resembling a farl
and served warm with butter
and jam. It is often served with cheese as well.
, a tea cake is a traditional dense large cookie, made with sugar, butter, eggs, flour, milk, and flavoring.
In the rest of the United States, a tea cake is a spice cake
topped with powdered sugar
. Sometimes it may contain fruits such as apricot
s, blueberries
, or cranberries
.
, a teacake is typically a heavier sponge cake. A quick and easy cake to make, typically ready to serve warm from the oven in less than 30 minutes. Ingredients usually consist of always available ingredients in the kitchen cupboard and they are typically flour, eggs, butter, cinnamon and sugar. It is traditionally served warm as an accompaniment to tea. Australian teacakes are sprinkled with cinnamon and fine (caster) sugar, and are usually served warm from the oven.
novel Their Eyes Were Watching God
.
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
or cake
Cake
Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
. Tea cake can also be used to describe Compressed tea. For the chocolate-covered teacake, see Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats.
United Kingdom
In East Lancashire, some parts of Yorkshire, and some other northern parts of England, a teacake is a round bread roll which is cut in half to make sandwiches. They do not usually contain any sort of dried fruit. They can be made with either white, brown, wholemeal or granary flour. A favourite way to eat them is to slice them into fingers, toast and then spread with butter and BovrilBovril
Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick, salty meat extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston and sold in a distinctive, bulbous jar. It is made in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, owned and distributed by Unilever UK....
or Marmite
Marmite
Marmite is the name given to two similar food spreads: the original British version, first produced in the United Kingdom and later South Africa, and a version produced in New Zealand...
.
In other parts of England, a teacake is a light, sweet, yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
-based bun
Bun
A bun is a small, usually sweet, bread. Commonly they are hand-sized or smaller, domed in shape, with a flat bottom. A bun can also be a savory bread roll similar to a bap or barmcake....
containing dried fruits, most usually currants
Zante currant
The Zante currant , or currant are dried berries of small, sweet, seedless grape variety Black Corinth . The name comes from the Anglo-French phrase "raisins de Corinthe" and the Ionian island of Zakynthos , which was once the major producer and exporter...
, sultanas
Sultana (grape)
The sultana is a type of white, seedless grape assumed to originate from the Turkish, Greek, or Iranian area...
or peel
Peel (fruit)
Peel, also known as rind or skin, is the outer protective layer of a fruit or vegetable which could be peeled off. The rind is usually the botanical exocarp, but the term exocarp does also include the hard cases of nuts, which are not named peels since they are not peeled off by hand or peeler, but...
. It is typically split, toasted, buttered, and served with tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
. It is flat and circular, with a smooth brown upper surface and a somewhat lighter underside. Although most people refer to a tea cake as a cake containing fruit, in East Lancashire, certain areas of Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
the name currant teacake is used to distinguish fruited 'cakes' from plain bread rolls. In west Yorkshire, a large plain white or brown teacake 9 inches or 225 mm diameter is usually called a breadcake and is used to make very large sandwiches. Many cafes sell these for breakfast or midmorning snacks. In Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, the tea cake is known as a "huffkin", which is often flavoured with hops, especially at the time of harvesting hops
Hops
Hops are the female flower clusters , of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine...
in September. In Sussex, a luxurious version of the tea cake with added aromatics such as nutmeg, cinamon and rose water is still sometimes made and called a manchet
Manchet
Manchet, or manchette or michette , is a wheaten yeast bread of very good quality, or a small flat circular loaf of same. It was a bread that was small enough to be held in the hand or glove .-History:...
or Lady Arundel's Manchet
Lady Arundel's Manchet
Lady Arundel's Manchet is a traditional version of a manchet, a traditional English yeast bread from Sussex England.The recipe for Lady Arundel's Manchet was first published in 1653 according to Elizabeth David. It was a luxurious bread eaten by the medieval aristocracy and remained popular into...
. In North East England, areas of Newcastle Upon Tyne and Northumberland, some teacakes are called "Singing Hinnies" due to the addition of a glaze.
Europe
In SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, the word for teacake (tekaka) refers to a sweetened wheat soda bread
Soda bread
Soda bread is a variety of quick bread traditionally made in a variety of cuisines in which sodium bicarbonate is used as a raising agent rather than the more common yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, bread soda, salt, and buttermilk...
, resembling a farl
Farl
A farl is any of various roughly triangular flat breads and cakes, traditionally made by cutting a round into four pieces....
and served warm with butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
and jam. It is often served with cheese as well.
North America
In the Southeastern United StatesSoutheastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
, a tea cake is a traditional dense large cookie, made with sugar, butter, eggs, flour, milk, and flavoring.
In the rest of the United States, a tea cake is a spice cake
Spice cake
Spice cake is traditionally flavored with a mixture of spices. The cake can be prepared in many varieties. Predominant flavorings include spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger and nutmeg.- Variations :...
topped with powdered sugar
Powdered sugar
Powdered sugar, also known as confectioners' sugar or icing sugar, is very fine sugar. When intended for home use, it typically contains a small amount of anti-caking agent....
. Sometimes it may contain fruits such as apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
s, blueberries
Blueberry
Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...
, or cranberries
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
.
Australia
In AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, a teacake is typically a heavier sponge cake. A quick and easy cake to make, typically ready to serve warm from the oven in less than 30 minutes. Ingredients usually consist of always available ingredients in the kitchen cupboard and they are typically flour, eggs, butter, cinnamon and sugar. It is traditionally served warm as an accompaniment to tea. Australian teacakes are sprinkled with cinnamon and fine (caster) sugar, and are usually served warm from the oven.
Cultural references
"Tea Cake" is the name of one of the characters in the Zora Neale HurstonZora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance...
novel Their Eyes Were Watching God
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a 1937 novel and the best-known work by African American writer Zora Neale Hurston. Set in central and southern Florida in the early 20th century, the novel garnered attention and controversy at the time of its publication, and has come to be regarded as a seminal...
.
See also
- Coffee cakeCoffee cakeThe term coffee cake can refer to either of the following:* A class of cakes intended to be eaten alongside coffee. Under this definition, a coffee cake does not contain coffee. They are typically single layer cakes that may be square or rectangular like a Stollen or loaf-shaped rectangular cakes....
, a class of cakes that are served with coffeeCoffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,... - Victoria cakesSponge cakeSponge cake is a cake based on flour , sugar, and eggs, sometimes leavened with baking powder which has a firm, yet well aerated structure, similar to a sea sponge. A sponge cake may be produced by either the batter method, or the foam method. Typicially the batter method in the U.S. is known as a...
, the kind of cake that Queen Victoria ate with her tea. - Chocolate teacakes, a kind of chocolate-coated marshmallow treat
- Russian tea cakeRussian tea cakeA Russian tea cake is a kind of pastry, commonly eaten around Christmas in both Russia and the United States. It is a form of jumble, a pastry common in Middle Ages England...
, also called Mexican wedding cookies, a kind of cookie that originated in Russia