Tea cakes
Tea cakes are a tasty bake – a sweet flavoured bun filled with dried mixed fruit. This classic treat is perfect served warm and buttered and enjoyed with a cup of tea.
Tea cakes are a delicious, classic bake. A sweet, spiced bun filled with dried fruit, they’re best served warm either straight from the oven or toasted with butter.
If you’re looking for something simple yet delicious to make for an afternoon tea, then these tea cakes are perfect. They do take a bit of time to make because you need to leave them to prove, but if you’re able to take the time, then they’re well worth the effort.
How can kids help to make tea cakes?
Like with any bread or bun recipe, there are lots of steps kids can help with when making these tea cakes. And as the recipe is a bit stop start, with pauses for the dough to prove, that means you kids can dip in and out of helping if they like. They might just help make the dough, or if you prepare that in advance, they could simply help to shape the rolls.
Your kids can help to measure all the ingredients out before mixing them all together. Once they’ve done that they can help to knead the dough, whether by hand or using a mixer.
Once you’ve made the dough, your kids can help add the fruit and knead it in before dividing the dough up (a great lesson in fractions), and shaping the buns.
If you have very little kids who want to get involved, they can help add the egg wash onto the tea cakes before you bake them.
What dried fruit should I use?
You can use any mix of dried fruit you like, including the dried fruit mix you can find in the supermarket. Otherwise, sultanas, raisins, or currents would work well. If you use any larger pieces of dried fruit cut them into smaller pieces before adding them to the dough.
How long will the tea cakes keep?
The tea cakes will keep for up to 5 days in an air tight container. I like them best when they’re fresh from the oven and still a little bit warm, but if you’re serving them after a day or two you can toast them.
If you want to keep them for longer you can freeze tea cakes for up to a few months. Once they’re cooled, wrapped them in cling film and pop them in a freezer bag. Make sure you defrost them fully before you serve them.
Other classic bakes you’ll love
If you liked these tea cakes you’ll love our easy bread and bun recipes,
Raspberry swirl rolls
Iced buns
Nutella babka
Schnecken
Belgian buns
Monkey bread
Caramel apple cinnamon rolls
Or why not try one of these delicious classic bakes
Tea loaf
Fruit loaf
Carrot cake traybake
Sultana cake
Banana bread
Ginger loaf cake
Treacle sponge
Fruit scones
Useful equipment
You might need some of the following equipment to make these tea cakes:
Digital scales
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Measuring jug
Free-standing mixer
Mixing bowl
Bowl
Dough cutter
Baking tray
Silicone pastry brush
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Ingredients
500g ( 4 cups) strong bread flour
1.5 teaspoons of salt
60g (4 tablespoons) caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1.5 packets of fast action dried yeast
50g (¼ cup) butter, softened
275 – 300ml (1 ¼ cups) warm water
150g (¾ cup) sultanas or dried mixed fruit
50g (½ cup) chopped peel
1 egg, beaten
How to make tea cakes
Add the dry ingredients to a bowl
Get your kids to measure out the flour and add that to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your free-standing mixer.
In separate corners, get them to add the salt, sugar, cinnamon and yeast.
Add the butter and water
Measure out the butter then get your kids to cut it into a few pieces. If it’s not soft enough to mix in (ie if you keep yours in the fridge and it’s still hard), pop it in the fridge for a few seconds to soften it, but not long enough for it to melt.
Add the softened butter to your mixing bowl.
If you’re using a free-standing mixer, attach the dough hook and turn it on to a low setting. Start pouring the water in while the hook mixes it in for you. Add the water slowly until the dough is nice and soft, but not soggy. You might not need all of the water.
If you don’t have a free-standing mixer, add the water a little at a time. Stopping to stir it in after each little addition. Again, you might not need all the water, so stop adding it once the dough is nice and soft but before it’s becomes soggy.
Knead the dough, either with your dough hook or your hands for 5-10 minutes until it is soft and smooth.
Pop the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it and set it somewhere warm for 1-2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.
Make the tea cakes
Prepare a baking sheet by either greasing it or laying a sheet of baking parchment paper on top.
Once the dough has doubled in size, tip it onto a floured work surface. Knock back the dough (ie punch the air out of it).
Get your kids to measure out the dried fruit and candied peel. Spread the dough out a bit then pour the fruit on top.
With your hands, knead the fruit in for a minute, trying to make sure it all ends up well dispersed through the dough.
Divide the dough into 8 evenly sized pieces. Unless you have older children if you let them divide the dough, it’s unlikely to be very even so you might need to do that yourself. Or, with younger children you could turn it into a lesson in fractions/dividing and then use some scales to make it more accurate.
Roll each portion into a ball. You want to make the top neat and smooth by tucking the bottoms in to create some surface tension on top as you shape the tea cakes into a round ball.
Pop them on your prepared baking tray a few centimetres apart as they’ll grow as they prove and bake. Once on the tray, press down the tops slightly to flatten them and give them the classic tea cake shape.
Cover your tray with an oiled sheet of cling film / glad wrap and set them aside somewhere warm for 30 minutes to an hour until they have doubled in size again.
Bake the tea cakes
Heat your oven to 200C / 180C Fan, 390 F.
Before you put the tea cakes in the oven, get your kids to brush the tops with a little bit of beaten egg.
Bake the tea cakes on the top shelf of your oven for 10 – 15 minutes. They’re ready when they’ve risen and turned a lovely golden brown colour.
Remove them from the oven the leave them to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before popping them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve with a little butter and enjoy!
Tea cakes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Measure out the flour and add that to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your free-standing mixer.In separate corners, add the salt, sugar, cinnamon and yeast.
- Measure out the butter then cut it into a few pieces. If it's not soft enough to mix in pop it in the fridge for a few seconds to soften it, but not long enough for it to melt.Add the softened butter to your mixing bowl.
- If you're using a free-standing mixer, attach the dough hook and turn it on to a low setting. Start pouring the water in while the hook mixes it in for you. Add the water slowly until the dough is nice and soft, but not soggy. You might not need all of the water.If you don't have a free-standing mixer, add the water a little at a time. Stopping to stir it in after each little addition. Again, you might not need all the water, so stop adding it once the dough is nice and soft but before it's becomes soggy.Knead the dough, either with your dough hook or your hands for 5-10 minutes until it is soft and smooth.
- Pop the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it and set it somewhere warm for 1-2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.
- Prepare a baking sheet by either greasing it or laying a sheet of baking parchment paper on top.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, tip it onto a floured work surface. Knock back the dough (ie punch the air out of it).Measure out the dried fruit and candied peel. Spread the dough out a bit then pour the fruit on top. With your hands, knead the fruit in for a minute, trying to make sure it all ends up well dispersed through the dough.
- Divide the dough into 8 evenly sized pieces.Roll each portion into a ball. You want to make the top neat and smooth by tucking the bottoms in to create some surface tension on top as you shape the tea cakes into a round ball.Pop them on your prepared baking tray a few centimetres apart as they’ll grow as they prove and bake. Once on the tray, press down the tops slightly to flatten them and give them the classic tea cake shape.
- Cover your tray with an oiled sheet of cling film / glad wrap and set them aside somewhere warm for 30 minutes to an hour until they have doubled in size again.
- Heat your oven to 200C / 180C Fan, 390 F.
- Before you put the tea cakes in the oven, get your kids to brush the tops with a little bit of beaten egg.
- Bake the tea cakes on the top shelf of your oven for 10 – 15 minutes. They're ready when they've risen and turned a lovely golden brown colour.Remove them from the oven the leave them to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before popping them on a wire rack to cool completely.
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