Irish Tea Cake, a scrumptious vanilla sponge cake that is buttery, but light and fluffy, and dusted with icing sugar for a sweet touch. It's incredibly easy to make with just a handful of easy-to-find ingredients, and it can be served throughout the year, and particularly on St Patrick's Day.
Unlike a traditional sponge cake, which uses equal amounts of butter, flour and sugar, this Irish Sponge Cake has a much lighter, fluffier sponge, but it's as indulgent and easy to whip up in no time.
It uses less butter and more milk, so the batter is not as dense, and that's what gives it the airy texture. Having baked both versions over the years, I can say I definitely prefer this sponge over the classic one.
This tea cake can be added to your St Patrick's Day menu, or it can be a delicious addition to your Afternoon Tea Party when the weather gets warmer, and the party season is in full swing.
And while it goes down well with any hot or cold drink, I certainly prefer enjoying it with a nice cup of tea - you really can't beat that!
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Ingredients used
- flour - I used self-raising flour, you can add baking powder to it as well if you wish, but I find that this flour is enough to get a good rise on the batter
- butter - make sure it's at room temperature so it can cream well, I prefer using salted butter in all my baking, there is no need to add any salt to the sponge if salted butter is used
- eggs - at room temperature
- milk - as with all my baking, full-fat milk is recommended, but semi-skimmed would do too
- vanilla extract - or any other extract of your choice
- sugar - either granulated or caster sugar
- icing sugar - for dusting the cake when it's ready and cooled
Why the recipe works
- it uses simple ingredients that are easy to find in any shop
- very little prep and it can be whipped up really quick
- it can be made in one single bowl - minimal cleaning required afterwards
- it's really delicious!
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- add the soften butter and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl
- use a hand mixer to cream them together
- add the eggs one by one mixing well after each addition
- sift in the flour, add the vanilla extract and milk, and use a spatula to get a smooth batter
- grease and flour a 23 cm / 9 inch round baking tin and spread the batter evenly
- bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
- remove it from the oven and leave it to cool completely
- dust with icing sugar before serving
Expert tips
As with any other sponge that requires creaming the butter and sugar together, it is crucial to have the butter soften, but not melted. A cold butter will be very hard to beat and will change the consistency of the sponge.
Measure the ingredients well, as the amounts used with make the difference between a well risen sponge and a though dense one. Also, preheating the oven helps get a good rise quickly, so make sure to turn the oven on at least 15 minutes before the cake goes in.
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Irish Tea Cake
Ingredients
- 200 g self-raising flour
- 120 g butter, soften
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 125 ml milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar ( for dusting the cake)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
- Add the butter and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl and use a hand mixer to cream them together.
- Add the eggs one by one beating well after every addition.
- Sift in the flour, add the milk and vanilla extract, and use a spatula to mix everything together until you get a smooth batter.
- Grease and flour a 23 cm/ 9 inch round cake tin and spread the batter evenly.
- Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool completely.
- Dust with icing sugar.
Video
Notes
- As with any other sponge that requires creaming the butter and sugar together, it is crucial to have the butter soften, but not melted. A cold butter will be very hard to beat and will change the consistency of the sponge.
- Measure the ingredients well, as the amounts used with make the difference between a well risen sponge and a though dense one. Also, preheating the oven helps get a good rise quickly, so make sure to turn the oven on at least 15 minutes before the cake goes in.
Nutrition
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