These almond poppy seed tea cakes are buttery and light with a crunchy crackly exterior. Baked in a muffin pan, the delicate tea cakes are simple, but they taste fancy and are perfect for a tea party. For a little something extra, drizzle each cake with lemon almond icing.
Almond tea cakes are often lumped into the muffins or cupcakes category, but theyโre entirely unique with their own identity. Muffins and cupcakes typically have a soft texture throughout, but tea cakes boast a lovely crisp exterior with tender centers. In fact, one might argue that muffins and cupcakes pale in comparison.
Let me introduce you to almond poppy seed tea cakes. I had the pleasure of working with Americaโs Test Kitchen when I promoted their cookbook The Perfect Cake and shared their delicious recipe for Boston cream pie. This cookbook continues to be a reliable source of inspiration, and their intriguing lavender tea cakes became the starting point for this recipe. Thereโs a few modifications: I reduced the sugar and salt, used sour cream, added poppy seeds, and chose almond and vanilla as the primary flavors.
Almond Poppy Seed Tea Cakes Details
- Texture: These almond poppy seed tea cakes are more than meets the eye. Their crunchy crackly coating belies the light, fluffy cake inside. Itโs an unexpected yet pleasant texture surprise!
- Flavor: Youโll enjoy sweet almond flavor and the topping is a light lemon almond glaze. What a combo! If you enjoy almond extract in desserts, you might like these cherry almond shortbread cookies too.
- Ease: Nothing too tricky here. Bake the cakes, let them cool, then add a drizzle of icing. You can also freeze the baked tea cakes. See recipe below for more details.
- Time: Youโll be enjoying these homemade tea cakes in under an hour. Set aside about 15 minutes for prep and another 15 for baking. Cool for a bit, then drizzle with the lemon icing. This recipe also joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipesโready in 1 hour or less!
Recipe Testing: What Works & What Doesn’t
Hereโs what my team and I learned as we tested and baked this recipe.
- Filling the pan: Too much batter causes the tea cakes to overflow and spread all over the pan. Divide the batter between all 12 cups, so each is only about halfway full. Though the tea cakes will slightly rise in the very center of the surface, there isnโt enough flour in the recipe to create substantial muffin-like domes.
- The crunchy exterior: Use 1/2 cup of butter in the recipe: 6 Tablespoons for the tea cake batter and 2 Tablespoons for the exteriors. Using a pastry brush, brush a mixture of melted butter and sugar into each cup before adding the batter. Donโt be shy with the butter mixtureโuse every last drop because you want a noticeable buttery crunchy coating on each cake.
- Cupcake liners: You *could* use cupcake liners, but they defeat the purpose of greasing and sugaring the pan. And then you *could* grease and sugar the cupcake liners, but the crunchy sugar coating will peel off as you unwrap the tea cake. Trust us: brushing the pan with a butter + sugar mixture is key to the unique taste and texture!
- Finishing touch: Finish the almond poppy seed tea cakes with a light glaze. You need nothing more than a squeeze of lemon juice, some almond extract, and confectionersโ sugar. Feel free to swap lemon juice for milk or use vanilla icing instead.
Interested in mini bite-sized almond tea cakes? Use a mini muffin pan and see the recipe note below for details. Or if you want to try other flavors, don’t miss my brown butter berry tea cakes.
What to Serve at a Tea Party
- Madeleines
- Mini Cheesecakes or Mini No-Bake Cheesecakes
- French Macarons
- Dark Chocolate Orange Biscotti
- Lemon Ricotta Cookies
- Choux Pastry Cream Puffs (Pรขte ร Choux)
- Mini Fruit Galettes
- Glazed Orange Poppy Seed Bars
- Mille-Feuille
Almond Poppy Seed Tea Cakes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 tea cakes
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Theseย almond poppy seed tea cakesย are buttery and light with a crunchy crackly exterior. Baked in a muffin pan, the delicate tea cakes are simple, but they taste fancy and are perfect for a tea party.
Ingredients
Prepare Pan
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon (12g) granulated sugar
Cakes
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60g)ย sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
Almond Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1–2 Tablespoonsย lemon juice or milk
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- optional: sliced almonds for garnish
Instructions
- To prepare the pan: Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Whisk melted butter and 1 Tablespoon of granulated sugar together. Using a pastry brush, brush it into each cup of a 12-count muffin pan. This creates the wonderfully crisp exterior that makes these tea cakes so special.
- Make the cakes: Whisk the flour, poppy seeds, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Add the eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. The mixture may look curdled; that’s ok. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients until combined. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick.
- Spoon the batter evenly into each prepared cup (about halfway full).
- Bake for 14-15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The tea cakes may have tall bumps in the very center. Remove cakes from the oven and immediately invert the pan to release the cakes. They won’t sit flat because of the bumps, but that’s what makes them so charming! Let the cakes cool, bottom side up, for at least 10 minutes before drizzling with icing.
- Make the icing: Whisk the confectionersโ sugar, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or milk, and almond extract together until smooth. Add another Tablespoon of lemon juice or milk to thin out if needed. Drizzle over cakes before serving. If desired, garnish with sliced almonds.
- Cover and store leftover tea cakes at room temperature for 1-2 days or in theย refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions:ย Bake the tea cakes 1-2 days ahead of time. Cover tightly and store at room temperature before drizzling with icing and serving. Baked and cooled tea cakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight on the counter before drizzling with icing and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links):ย 12-count Muffin Pan | Pastry Brush | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Why is Everything at Room Temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Here’s more information about the importance of room temperature ingredients.
- Mini Tea Cakes baked in a 24-count mini muffin pan, follow the recipe as instructed, brush the pan with the melted butter + sugar mixture, fill each halfway with batter, and bake for around 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and invert the pan as instructed in step 5. Recipe yields around 30-32 miniature tea cakes.
- Adapted from The Perfect Cake by America’s Test Kitchen.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Made these with orange zest as the primary flavor and they’re fantastic little tea cakes, perfect alongside some iced tea! The problem is that they’re so good that one isn’t enough!!!
I love that it’s exactly 12, perfect for a quick bake and then serve fresh. I look forward to playing around with flavors and add-ins, and trying some brown sugar in the butter to see if I can get a bit of caramel.
Delicious! I made 24 minis and shared with friends and everyone loved them!
Good for breakfast because they aren’t sweet. I was expecting a sweeter muffin. I think if needs more flavor so next time I will add lemon juice or extract. The texture u
Is nice and the recipe was easy to make because I had all the ingredients on hand.
Hi Sally, can I use Almond Flour instead and replace granulated sugar for Splenda?
Hi Diana, I haven’t tested either option, but I don’t see those replacements working very well. Let me know if you test anything. You can try these brown butter berry tea cakes instead; those use a little almond flour (but not all).
Hello!! These sound absolutely lovely!
Could the plain yogurt be substituted with plain Greek yogurt??
Hi Lily! Definitely.
These tea cakes are wonderful! Slightly crunchy on the outside Buttery goodness and light and Airy on the inside. I love the texture at the poppy seeds and toasted almonds gave. I usually bake a lot of bread and this was such a nice change. My husband and I both love them! Thank you so much Sally.
Hi Sally, These look amazing! Can I use chopped almonds instead of poppy seeds?
I’m sure finely chopped almonds would be just fine. Thank you!
Sally, thank you so much! I made these for our little sweet treat after dinner and they are delicious!!! My husband had 3!
Love your recipes!
Iโll try this recipe as a bundt cakeโฆ weโll seeโฆ
Thank you again.
As a rookie baker I appreciate so much how your recipes explain every step. Very thankful for this site!
Absolute perfection. Small morsels of sweet, moist cakes. My grandkids and I loved them! Thank you for developing recipes that are a hit every time.
I have these little minis in the oven now! All your recipes are phenomenal so I donโt doubt that these will be amazing!
I made 1/2 a recipe of these and they came out beautifully. I like that these are not too big (like muffins). Next time I will make the full recipe. Thanks Sally for sharing your recipes with the world. Iโve tried a number of recipes from your site and have shared your recipes with others.
These are absolutely fab!
Was unsure what to expect, I’m in England and as you said Tea Cakes are completely different here.
Unfortunately I had no sour cream or yogurt so substituted with butter milk. They turned out beautifully and were all gone before I knew it, i think my daughter had been sneaking a few at a time.
I’ll definitely be making them again and will be sure to have sour cream to compare the difference.
I absolutely love all your recipes, I know I can trust them to turn out perfectly everytime. I especially appreciate that you have both cups and grams in the recipe as we don’t tend to use cup measurements that much in the UK.
Thanks again, I look forward to making another one of your fantastic recipes.
Thank you so much for the kind feedback, Meghan! We truly appreciate it.
These were perfect with afternoon tea, outside with my friend. They looked so decadent, and we’re easy to make. Thanks for yet another fave recipe!
Fun, easy, and delicious! These are a crowd-pleaser even without the icing.
If i bake the tea cakes the night before. Will they still have the crispy crunch the next morning?
Hi Leoni, like a lot of baking recipes, the tea cakes won’t be as fresh and delicious on the next day. They’ll lose some of that crisp texture.
Hi Sally!
I will be baking these for someone as a Mother’s Day treat and was wondering if drizzling all 12 tea cakes with icing will be a problem if they will not all be eaten right away. I’d also hate to hand them 12 tea cakes with drizzle and sliced almonds on the side, so I’m not sure what the best option here is! Any suggestions you have would be great!
Thanks Sally!
Sarah
Hi Sarah! How far in advance will the tea cakes be made? They will stay at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, but you’re correct, the icing does look best right before serving. Perhaps you could drizzle the icing right before gifting the tea cakes?
Thanks for your response, Lexi! I will be making the tea cakes immediately before I gift them, so perhaps I will take your suggestion and drizzle them right before that! Perhaps I could even include a small container of drizzle on the side in case the tea cakes absorb too much drizzle before they have a chance to eat them?
Thank you for this, Lexi!
Sarah
Can I replace almond flour instead of all purpose flour? What changes will I need to make in the recipe?
Hi Pooja, we haven’t tested this recipe with almond flour — it has very different baking properties than all-purpose flour and wouldn’t be a 1:1 substitute without making other changes. If you decide to do some experimenting, we’d love to know how it goes for you!
Hi! Is it possible to convert this recipe to bake as a full-size cake (9-inch round tin)?
Hi Sequoia, I’m sure you could make this into a single layer 9 inch cake but I’m unsure of the best bake time.
Made these for a tea party, they are perfect! I used the glaze w/lemon ๐
These tea cakes are not only easy to make and delicious-but cutesy as well. Iโm becoming โaddictedโ to Sallyโs recipes!
Made this for the baking challenge. I love how easy this recipe is. So light and tasty!
So glad I tried this recipe!!
Easy to make, quick and makes a delicious taste treat!
Love learning the tip to prepare the pan with the butter and sugar mixture. Makes a yummy crust on tea cakes!
These were delicious! I made them today for Motherโs Day (to celebrate myself, I guess). The kids loved them, too. Thank you!
I skipped the almond extract and added orange extract and zest and they were delicious. Didnโt have poppy seeds so used chia instead. Love these!!! My favorite recipe on your website!
Hi Sally! These look amazing and I canโt wait to try them! Iโm probably stressing for nothing but do these cakes turn out dry at all?
Hi Alice! I find them very moist inside. The edges have a lovely buttery crisp to them.