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
- The cake is soft and tender
- It’s quick and easy to make
- You only need a handful of ingredients
- It tastes like a hot cinnamon donut
Lately I’m becoming more and more obsessed with easy bakes, including one layer cakes like this one. 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 a dinner party after I finish a day at work.
So what makes this 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
TIPS FOR MAKING CINNAMON TEA 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.
MORE ONE LAYER CAKE RECIPES TO TRY
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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.
Nika says
Hello Jess. The cake is super easy to make and delicious! I used salted butter and it was also fab. Highly recommend it for a quick Sunday afternoon treat. Kids loved it … My younger one is on his third slice 🙂
Best, Nika
Jessica Holmes says
Aww I love hearing that Nika!
Momina says
Hi Jessica! I absolutely love your recipes. They’re so easy and delicious! I’ve made this cake 3 times and every time it turned out amazing. I wanted to ask if I pour the batter into a cupcake tray instead of a cake tin, will it turn out the same?
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that! Yes you can use this recipe to make cupcakes. Or you could try my Cinnamon Donut Muffin recipe.
Bonnie says
This cake was a hit
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love that Bonnie!
Elsa says
Can I use 8 inch square pan? Will the baking time be the same?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes and yes!
Eliana Roberts says
it’s in the oven at the moment it smells lovely , really easy recipe to follow and i’m sure good results will come
Jessica Holmes says
Hope you love it Ellana!
Tanicka Robins says
This cake was delicious and light. I only made a few changes, I also added a splash of banana extract, and a light glaze on top from a leftoverpack of cinnamon rolls. As it cooled it became a crisp sweet crust. Perfect!
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Tanicka!
Leanne Velthuyzen says
Just made your cake it’s wonderful. I’m not a baker at all! but l did this and it turned out really well. Thank you 😊
Leanne
Jessica Holmes says
So glad to hear that Leanne!
Lisa says
Yummy!! Easy to make.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Lisa!
Cheryl says
This cake was so easy to make and turned out delicious. It was buttery, light and fluffy. My friends and family loved it!
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Cheryl!
Debbie says
Hello Jessica, I just wondered if I could make this cake with self raising flour instead of the plain and baking powder? Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Debbie, the ratio of flour to baking powder wouldn’t be exactly the same but I think it’d be pretty close if you wanted to try it.
Debbie Tyrrell says
Hi Jessica, I made the cake today with the self raising flour and it tasted delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Jessica Holmes says
Wonderful!
Belgin Karagozlu says
Baked this cake today, it was easy to make comes out perfect
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Loretta Ekechukwu says
Can I double the quantities and make a bigger portion of the cake?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes I think that would be fine.
Loretta Ekechukwu says
I tried it and it came out wow!
My husband wants mooorrreee and I’m about doing just that…lol
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Loretta!
Fiona says
The yummiest teacake we’ve made 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love hearing that!!
Siti says
I made this today for a tea party at my place. Everyone loved it! I was a bit disappointed because I didn’t have any caster sugar at hand so I used coarse brown sugar and thought it won’t turn out good..it took a long time to cream the butter and sugar! It turned out so moist and soft! I also used freshly ground Ceylon cinnamon and the smell was divine! Highly recommend this recipe, it’s a crowd pleaser. I love the fact that u shared some baking tips too Jessica! It helped me make the yummiest tea cake I’ve ever tried. Thanks a lot
Jessica Holmes says
Im so happy to hear that Siti! Thank you so much for your lovely review!
Margo says
Hello, can I use powdered sugar instead of caster sugar?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Margo, I haven’t tested it with powdered sugar but I wouldn’t recommend it. You can use regular granulated sugar if you can’t find caster sugar.
Julia says
Hi – I am a bit confused. Am I meant to add the milk in step 2? Milk is not mentioned in the wet mix then suddenly it says to mix the flour mixture with milk. Should I mix the flour mixture with milk, and then add the egg mixture? Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Julia, sorry for any confusion. The milk is added just in step 3. You add the flour mixture and the milk to the creamed butter, sugar and eggs. Hope that helps!
Leena says
I made it today and it was amazing!!!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Leena!