Introducing my easy Cinnamon Tea Cake. It comes together in minutes and boasts a buttery crumb and a sweet cinnamon sugar crust. The perfect cake for morning tea!
The humble tea cake ❤️ I’m so excited to share my Cinnamon Tea Cake recipe with you today. It’s incredibly easy to make but it tastes like you’ve slaved away in the kitchen for hours.
It has a super soft and tender crumb that’s buttery and sweet, and a crisp cinnamon sugar topping.
You only need a handful of ingredients and you’ve got the perfect cake to share with family and friends.
Why you will love this recipe
- Beautiful texture: The cake is soft and tender.
- Great for beginner bakers: It’s quick and easy to make.
- Everyday ingredients: You only need a handful of ingredients
- Tasty: It tastes like a hot cinnamon donut
I made this for a dinner party I attended last weekend, and it was a hit! There wasn’t a crumb left!
– Marissa
Recipe testing
Lately I’m becoming more and more obsessed with easy bakes, like Buttermilk Scones and one layer cakes like my Raspberry Almond Cake. And I have you to thank for it.
My most popular recipes are almost ALWAYS ones that are quick and easy to make and can be replicated again and again with success. I think that’s why my Apple Cake is one of the most popular recipes on my entire site.
And I’m right there with you. Yes, sometimes I love a challenge or to create something more extravagant, but let’s be real. Most of the time, I need foolproof bakes that can whipped up quick when friends are popping over for morning tea or an easy dessert I can take to dinner after a busy day at work or chasing the kids.
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So what makes this Cinnamon Tea Cake so special? Well apart from being easy to throw together, it’s actually one of my all-time favourite cakes. I have a whole stack of it in my freezer because sometimes you just need a quick cake fix.
And even though this cake has no frosting, that buttery cinnamon crust makes me weak at the knees. After this cake is baked, you actually brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle over cinnamon sugar. If you serve this cake warm, you could close your eyes and think you are eating a warm cinnamon donut. #hello
Jess’s tips for perfect Cinnamon cake
- You will need an electric mixer for this recipe. Start with room temperature butter, you don’t want it fridge cold but it shouldn’t be melty by any means.
- We start by beating together the butter and sugar, this process is known as creaming. After a few minutes, the two will combine and turn pale and creamy. This process helps create a nice light and fluffy cake. It can be tempting to beat for 30 seconds or so just to combine the butter and sugar but if you keep going for another minute or so, you’ll see it change texture and almost look a little ‘whipped’. Perfect!
- Next comes the eggs. Sometimes when you add the eggs, the cake batter can turn lumpy and look a little curdled. That’s fine.
- Add half of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and cinnamon) and ALL the milk. Start to slowly mix together and then add the remaining dry ingredients. Transfer mixture to a cake tin and bake for 30-35 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- When you remove the cake from the oven, generously brush melted butter all over the top. Then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. This Cinnamon Tea Cake is delicious served warm.
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Let’s Bake
Cinnamon Tea Cake
A delicious light and tender Cinnamon Tea Cake.
Ingredients
Tea cake
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) full fat or whole milk
Cinnamon sugar topping
- 20 grams (1 tablespoon) butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar or granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until pale and creamy, approximately 1-2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat briefly – don’t worry if the mixture goes lumpy – then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the plain flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add half of the flour mixture, along with all the milk and slowly mix together on a low speed. Add the remaining flour mix and continue to mix until cake batter is smooth and creamy.
- Pour cake batter into your prepared tin and bake in the oven for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- While the cake is still warm, generously brush with melted butter and then sprinkle over cinnamon and sugar. Enjoy a slice while the cake is warm.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 slice Calories: 266 Sugar: 17.3 g Sodium: 84.7 mg Fat: 12.7 g Carbohydrates: 34.8 g Protein: 4.1 g Cholesterol: 68.1 mg
Hi, I’m Jess, the creator of Sweetest Menu and the author of Something Sweet. A self-taught baker and published recipe writer who can’t stop making easy and delicious baking recipes.
Nandini Bhattacharjee says
Fantastic recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you like it!
Natasha says
Doesn’t the cinnamon sugar topping fall off when you invert the cake on to a wire rack?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Natasha, I always brush the cake after it’s been taken out of the cake tin. Then I press the top with the butter and sprinkle over the cinnamon. You can see this in the video which might help too!
Em says
So , so good ! fluffy light texture . Almost like a pancake in a cake !
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you loved this one!
Jessica Kathryn Bramley says
I made this cake and it was delicious, with a twist. I made a half sandwich sponge with fig jam and vanilla butter icing filling. It’s a favourite now. Would anyone like to try it?
Jessica Holmes says
Oh gosh, that sounds incredible!
Casey Arnold says
I made this for a work breakfast potluck and it was a big hit! I cooked it at home and waited to brush on the topping until I got in the office, and that kept things warm and it didnt’s get soggy.
Jessica Holmes says
Oh that’s such a great idea Casey! So pleased it was a hit!
Dina says
Baked this today with my little girls and everyone absolutely LOVED it! So delicious and warm on a cool evening. Really loved the fluffy texture as well 🤩🤩🤩
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad to hear that Dina! How wonderful!
Sitarah Ibrahim says
Used this recipe multiple times, it’s so delicious to eat and easy to make! 10/10 100% recommend!
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! So glad to hear that Sitarah!
Wilma says
This recipe is always a success. Everyone complements when I bake it
Jessica Holmes says
I love hearing that Wilma!
Mary says
Followed the recipe to a tee and it turned out perfect. It wasn’t too sweet which was superb. Definitely don’t skip out on the cinnamon and sugar topping as it adds an extra level of sweetness 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
That’s so lovely to hear Mary! And I agree, the topping is the best part!
Christine says
I’d like to try to make this cake in a 8×4 bread pan, would that work?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Christine, I’ve never tried. It will increase the cook time and you may have to cover the top to prevent it from over-browning.
Sam Glove says
Terribly inaccurate recipe the flour measurement is so wrong. Complete waste of ingredients.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sam, what happened? The flour measurement is correct.
Sam Glove says
One and half cups of plain flour (210g) was used and the result was a mixture like runny watery cream so I added nearly one more cup of flour while mixing to a thicker consistency but the cake needed to cook for twice the time and was not fully cooked inside and hard on the edges. All other wet ingredients were exactly the recipe too. Very disappointed. Cheers
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sam, I’m not sure what happened here. The mixture shouldn’t be watery or overly runny. Did you use regular butter and milk? You can see in the video the expected consistency of the cake batter. But adding an extra cup of flour will definitely alter the end result and the bake time as you experienced.
Ash says
Delicious, made easily with ingredients in hand. I made a few tweaks. I swapped white sugar for brown sugar and added a lot more cinnamon, plus a teaspoon of nutmeg and half teaspoon of ginger. My glaze was just hot butter and brown sugar, brushed over cake then baked in oven for few a few minutes.
I will definitely make again.
Jessica Holmes says
Sounds magical Ash! So pleased it turned out well for you!
Brad says
I made this today, so quick and easy. Had a couple spoons of mascarpone left over that needed using so added that into the batter.
Texture of this cake is beautiful, flavour very reminiscent of a cinnamon doughnut.
Family devoured it while still warm in one sitting over a coffee.
Skipped the topping as written, just sprinkled raw sugar and extra cinnamon over the top before baking for a crunchy crust.
This recipe is definitely a keeper, and great to have on hand when you need to whip up something in a hurry. From cold oven to cake out on the cooling rack in 45 mins.
Jessica Holmes says
Love how fast you baked this one! So glad you and the fam loved it Brad!
Steffi Martis says
Amazing recipe . I just have a query on the flour quantity . Online conversation charts say 1 1/2 cup flour is 180 gms. However the recipe card mentions 210 gms
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Steffi, so pleased you enjoyed this one! You’ll actually find that everyone has a different opinion on how much a cup of flour weighs. All my recipes use the conversion 1 cup = 140 grams. That’s why I always recommend using a kitchen scale. So in summary, 210 grams is correct.