These brown butter berry tea cakes are delicate miniature sponge cakes perfect for a tea party, bridal shower, Mother’s Day, or any gathering where you’re serving coffee or tea. The browned butter gives the batter its depth of flavor, which accents the juicy berry at the heart of the tea cake. If you enjoy madeleines, but crave something easier, try these!
What exactly is a tea cake? Turns out that question has many answers, depending on where you are in the world. For example, in England, it’s a yeasted bun made with dried fruit (similar to a hot cross bun), toasted and buttered and enjoyed at afternoon tea. And in the American South, tea cakes are more like a cake-like cookie. What are tea cakes like in your region?
My idea of a tea cake is a miniature sponge cake perfectly suited for serving at a tea party, like these almond poppy seed tea cakes. They’re like delicate little… cakelets.
Are These Just… Mini Muffins?
Sort of, but not really. Although we’re baking these tea cakes in a mini muffin pan, the texture is different from a muffin or a cupcake; they’re actually most similar to madeleines, but much easier to make! I compare them below.
Tell Me About These Little Treats
- Flavor: Browning the butter gives these a subtle nutty, caramelized flavor, complemented by almond flour, fresh lemon zest, and a sweet-tart berry. The treats are like small French financier cakes.
- Texture: Whipping egg whites to soft peaks gives these brown butter tea cakes their spongey, airy texture. They’re soft with a slightly chewy crust, similar to a madeleine, with a juicy burst of berry in the middle.
- Ease: Much easier than making pastry, and no icing or fancy decorating required! The trickiest bit is browning the butter, but I’ll walk you through it.
I tried a few berry options, but I like these brown butter tea cakes best with fresh raspberries and blackberries—one berry in the center of each little cake. Perfect!
Like Madeleines, But a Lot Easier
This recipe is a great introduction to making madeleines, because these tea cakes are reminiscent in taste and texture, but they don’t require the same level of precision.
- No super special pan: We’re baking these tea cakes in a mini muffin pan. This recipe yields 30-36 tea cakes, so it’s helpful to have 2 mini muffin pans, but you could certainly also just use 1 pan and bake in 2 batches. Though if you want to go fancy, this NordicWare tea cake plaque would be just the thing to impress your guests!
- No chill time: Unlike with madeleines, you don’t need to chill the batter.
- Less fussy: The brown butter tea cake batter is pretty forgiving. In regular sponge cakes (like angel food cake) and madeleines, we take great care to not deflate the egg whites, but in this recipe, it’s not quite as important. You could certainly sift the dry ingredients in, but the texture was still amazing without being so precise. Just use a mixer to combine the whipped egg whites with the rest of the ingredients.
You and I are breaking all the rules here… and we like it!!!
Grab these 10 ingredients:
The first step is to brown the butter. Have you ever done this before? It’s fairly simple, but if you’re new to browning butter, reviewing my How to Brown Butter page will be helpful.
Success Tip: How to Brown Butter
Brown butter is melted butter with an enhanced flavor brought on by gently cooking it, and it’s a staple ingredient in many French pastries. In less than 10 minutes, the butter melts, sizzles, foams… then transforms into a complex, nutty, caramelized-flavored ingredient. It’s liquid gold, and just as valuable to this recipe!
Make sure to stir constantly, and I recommend using a pan with a light interior, rather than a dark pan, so you can see the color change. The difference between brown butter and burnt butter is just a few seconds! I usually use my Le Creuset enameled cast iron fry pan and a silicone whisk for browning butter, but a stainless steel pan works well too. See Notes if you’re using a darker pan.
Step Photos: How to Make Brown Butter Berry Tea Cakes
After browning the butter, separate 2 Tablespoons and use that to brush your mini muffin pan. (Extra brown butter flavor on the exterior, yum!) Let the remaining brown butter cool for 30 minutes. During that time, prepare the rest of the batter.
Whip egg whites into soft peaks:
Below left: Add all of the other ingredients (except vanilla extract and reserved brown butter) and beat on low speed to combine. Below right: Batter thins out when you beat in the butter and vanilla.
Spoon into greased muffin cups, about 2 teaspoons batter per tea cake, and then top with a berry:
When they’re done, the cakes should be golden brown around the edges. If there’s a hump in the middle, that’s completely normal—that’s actually what you want when you bake madeleines. Adding the berries on top reduces the rise, but if you leave out the berries, they will form a little dome while baking.
Serving Your Tea Cakes
These tea cakes don’t need much to dress them up, I just give them a little sugar shower! Use a fine mesh sieve or sifter to sprinkle a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. You could also drizzle some melted white or dark chocolate on top.
Don’t forget your coffee or tea! (Or champagne.)
Can I Make These in a Regular Muffin Pan?
Yes! This recipe yields about 10 tea cakes when baked in a standard-size muffin pan. See Notes for adapted instructions.
More Recipes Perfect for a Tea Party
See Your Brown Butter Berry Tea Cakes!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! 🙂
Brown Butter Berry Tea Cakes
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
- Yield: 30-36 mini cakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These brown butter berry tea cakes are delicate miniature sponge cakes. They’re similar to madeleines, but much easier to prepare! As instructed in step 1, be sure to cool the brown butter used for the batter until it’s no longer warm.
Ingredients
- 10 Tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter
- 4 large egg whites (140g), at room temperature
- 1 cup (105g) almond flour
- 2/3 cup (85g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (130g) fresh blackberries, raspberries, or blueberries (see note)
- optional: 1/4 cup (30g) confectioners’ sugar for dusting on top
Special Tools
Instructions
- Brown the butter: Set out a medium heat-proof bowl because you’ll need it at the end of this step. Slice the butter into Tablespoon-size pieces and place in a light-colored skillet or saucepan. A light-colored interior is crucial for determining when the butter begins to brown. (See Notes if using a dark skillet or pan.) Melt the butter over medium heat and stir or whisk constantly. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Continue stirring/whisking, keeping a close eye on it. After about 5–7 minutes, the butter will begin browning and you’ll notice lightly browned specks forming at the bottom of the pan. The butter will have a nutty aroma. The color will gradually deepen, from yellow to golden to golden-brown; once it’s a light caramel-brown color, remove from heat immediately and pour into the bowl, including any brown solids that have formed on the bottom of the pan. Separate out 2 Tablespoons of brown butter—we’ll brush that in the muffin pans in step 2. Cool the remaining brown butter (about 1/2 cup) for 30 minutes in the refrigerator, or until room temperature and no longer warm. Don’t cool longer than that because the butter will begin to solidify.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Using a pastry brush, brush the cups of a 24-count mini muffin pan with the 2 Tablespoons of browned butter. This recipe yields 30–36 tea cakes, so grease a 2nd pan or bake the batter in batches. If using mini muffin liners, brush the liners with the brown butter.
- Make the tea cakes: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on high speed in a large bowl until soft peaks form, about 2–3 minutes. Add the almond flour, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Beat on low speed until combined and don’t worry that the egg whites deflate, you’ll still taste their fluffy goodness in the cakes! Mixture will be sticky, lumpy, and thick. Pour in the vanilla extract and cooled brown butter and beat on low speed until combined.
- Spoon 2 teaspoons of batter into each greased muffin cup. Lightly poke a berry into the center of each. No need to submerge the berry, just stick it on top.
- Bake for 14–16 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing. Tea cakes will slightly deflate as they cool.
- If desired, lightly sift confectioners’ sugar on warm or cooled tea cakes before serving.
- Tea cakes are best enjoyed the day they are made. Store leftover tea cakes covered lightly at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Baked and cooled tea cakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight on the counter before dusting with confectioners’ sugar and serving.
- Using a regular 12-count muffin pan: Makes 10 tea cakes. Use a scant 2 Tablespoons of batter per tea cake and 2 berries on top. Extend the bake time to 18–21 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
- Browning butter in a darker skillet/pan: I recommend using a light-colored skillet or large pot when browning butter so you can see when the butter is browned. (It’s only a few quick seconds between brown butter and burnt butter.) If you only have dark cookware, I suggest setting a timer, and checking the color by spooning some butter into a glass bowl to determine if it has browned. Check it at the 5-minute mark, then every minute after. Don’t let it cook longer than 8 minutes.
- Almond flour: Almond flour is finely ground blanched almonds. You could also use almond meal, which is coarser. You can make your own almond flour, but be very careful because almonds can quickly release their oils, clump up, and turn into almond butter. It might be easier to just pick up a bag of fine almond flour. It’s common in grocery stores these days—I use and love Bob’s Red Mill brand.
- Can I make these without almond flour? We weren’t able to successfully make these without almond flour without the texture completely changing. Instead, I recommend making these almond poppy seed tea cakes. You can leave out the almond extract and poppy seeds, if needed/desired, and pop a berry into the tops before baking like you do with today’s recipe. See Notes in that recipe for using a mini muffin pan.
- Berries: You can use frozen berries instead of fresh, but be sure to thaw them first. I recommend blackberries, raspberries, or blueberries. You need 30–36 individual berries. If your blueberries are small, use 2 per tea cake.
Keywords: brown butter berry tea cakes
Great recipe! I used the Nordicware pan and didn’t have any problems with sticking- I sprayed it with the Pam + flour spray. The only tip that would have been useful for the Nordicware pan was to give it a tap or two on the counter before baking so there aren’t air bubbles in the design when you take them out.
★★★★★
PERFECT recipe for tea parties!! My sister brought them to her tea party for school and they were a huge hit! They have a subtle flavor that complements any drink yet packs enough punch to be eaten alone. Raspberries added the perfect touch of tartness too!! A recipe every baker need in their repertoire for sure!
★★★★★
Fun to make, tasty to eat and adorable to present on any occasion. Another successful bake! Thanks Sally
★★★★★
My cane out perfect! I followed the directions and they were perfect! Soft, sweet and delicious. Thank you for a great recipe
★★★★★
Absolutely amazing! This was such a simple recipe to follow, so my two year old and I tackeled the challenge together. I will definitely be making these again! I especially love the subtle nutty taste and texture. The light crisp of the brown butter is a phenomenal touch!
★★★★★
Just made these and I am really delighted with how they turned out. I love their mini size and the pop of the raspberry. The flavour of the brown butter certainly came through! I had a slight sticking problem with one of my mini muffin tins, so in future I’ll know which one to use and I may just buy another one of the same brand. Thanks for a great recipe which I am sure will be on regular rotation.
★★★★★
This is my first time entering a baking challenge and I am not disappointed. I had to use lime zest as my store was out of lemon zest it pairs perfectly with the raspberries and blueberries I used for my tea cakes. I did do a few with strawberries and they were good but not as good as the small berries. I appreciate the light sweetness to these tea cakes, I will definitely make these again. Thanks for taking me out of my comfort zone.
★★★★★
Do you think oat flour could sub for the almond flour? I have a nut allergy but would love to find a way to enjoy these! Thank you!!
Hi Annie, see recipe note “Can I make these without almond flour?” for our recommendations.
Omg!! Super delicious, so buttery and yummy I loved them thank u for the recipe
YUM! Absolutely delicious and I love how it all comes together so well. The flavours are great and these will make a great addition to any future brunch or afternoon tea spread.
★★★★★
These are wonderful! I needed a thank you gift for someone who prepared a meal for us and this was perfect. The recipe is easy, quick, looks pretty gift boxed and tastes wonderful! I used blueberries and strawberries as that is what I had fresh.
★★★★★
Sally – Have YOU used the Nordic Ware pan? I have one and was very disappointed. The cakes either did not come out or looked liked blobs. Looks like many others had problem with this pan if you read the reviews. Maybe you can tell me how to solve this problem
Hi Diane, I haven’t used that exact pan but similar Nordic Ware pans for smaller Bundt cakes– and my experience is that you REALLY have to grease them well otherwise they will not release. Grease generously, more than you would any other pan.
Yum! These were simple to make and so delicious. The texture is spot on, the fresh berry adds the perfect touch of sweetness, and the browned butter flavor is delightful. Happy to have given this recipe a try.
★★★★★
These are a lovely addition to my daily cup of tea
★★★★★
Is brown butter and ghee (clarified butter) the same thing? Can it be substituted with one another?
They are slightly different. With brown butter, the milk solids are cooked and left in the butter for color and flavor. I assume you could substitute one for the other but you will lose the brown butter flavor, of course. I always find this article helpful for review. https://www.abeautifulplate.com/clarified-butter-ghee-and-brown-butter/ (I love this website– her photography is just lovely!)
made these with blueberries and they were absolutely amazing! I will definitely be making these again!!
★★★★★
Hi Sally! Would coconut flour work in place of almond flour? Can’t wait to make these!
Hi Caroline, that substitution does not work for this recipe. Almond flour is best.
Perfect addition to my sons lunch box! They are light and delicately delicious.
★★★★★
made browned butter for the first time for this recipe, came out good on the first try! i halved the recipe and it came out good. excellent quick bake to satisfy a sweet tooth.
★★★★★
These were fun to make. I made raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry. The raspberry were the best; they had that little bit of tartness to them that made these little cakes stand out.
I’m stuck in quarantine and this was the perfect recipe to make – I had blackberries ready to go and a teacake pan to try out. I had tried brown butter before and wasn’t blown away. I must have done something wrong that time because today it smelled amazing and gave the batter a unique (delicious) flavor. They are light and fluffy, and the berry in the middle is the perfect burst of sweetness. I love them!
These delicious tea cakes are easy to make. The aroma of browned butter is delightful! The cakes are sweet, but not overly so. I didn’t have a mini-muffin pan, so I made it in the regular muffin pan and the recipe turned out perfectly. Note: the standard muffin pan makes 10 cakes as noted in Sally’s notes.
★★★★★
These cakes taste absolutely delicious! They came together easily. Watching the info on how to make perfect brown butter helped me a lot! I did have a few stick to the pan. I think I overfilled some of the muffin cups. I’ll be more careful next time!
★★★★★
Love how easy it was to follow your steps, the smell of the browned butter and the final cakes was just as delicious as its taste. I think next time, I’ll try it with jam or chocolate chunks instead of berries as my daughter doesn’t like fresh fruits in cakes. Thank you for another great recipe. Your blog is my go to site, if I ever need a recipe or inspiration
★★★★★
These look so wonderful. Does it have to be almond flour, or can regular or cake flour work?
Hi Barbara, thank you! I recommend almond flour for the best results– but see the Notes for adapting another recipe without almond flour.
I followed the recipe by weight where it was listed by weight. I added more zest than listed. My cakes took only 13 minutes. I ended up with 26 cakes, half with a blackberry and half with a raspberry. It’s a nice bite, dusted with icing sugar.
★★★
these sweet little tea cakes came together quickly and baked easily … directions were perfect and the results were delicious!
Hi Sally,
I love all your recipes and have had a lot of success with them. They are well-written and easy to execute. Would using carton liquid egg whites be okay in the is recipe instead of separating the whites from a whole egg?
That shouldn’t be a problem at all. And thank you very much for visiting my site and trusting my recipes!
Would these work with a dollop of preserves instead of the berries?
I can’t see why not!
Is it possible to make these only using almond flour so they’re gluten free? Thanks
Hi Tiere, that would not work for this particular recipe because almond flour cannot absorb liquid quite like all-purpose flour. However, if you test anything by tweaking the ingredients, let us know!
I love this idea!!
Just came out of the oven and they’re already a hit . Hope to have some left for the rest of the family this weekend.
★★★★★
These look delicious. Can’t wait to try them. Everything you make is delicious.
hi sally cant seem to find last months baking challange winner any where can you help me
Hi Saxon, if you scroll to the bottom of the May Baking Challenge post the winner, Allison, is announced.
Yummy looking recipes! Any way the carbs could be added to the recipe?