Irish Tea Cake

This simple vanilla cake is one of my favorite recipes to bake all year round. Its very nice to have on hand in the holiday season as well for those unexpected guests that might drop by, or just to serve as a simple family cake for afters on weeknight or at the weekend.

It has no bells and whistles, which speaks to the deliciousness of it. Nothing is needed to dress it up, save a simple dusting of icing sugar.

I commandeered the recipe from The Toasty Kitchen. I pinned it on Pinterest a few weeks back and thought it would be a nice plain and simple cake to have around during the holidays. It makes a nice alternative for those who are not fond of fruit cake.
It uses basic simple baking ingredients. There is nothing special required. This speaks to the Irish ingenuity to create something delicious out of a few ordinary things.

Served plain as is, it makes for a lovely cake to enjoy with a simple hot drink, be that tea or coffee. Children would enjoy it with a glass of ice cold milk, or even hot cocoa.
You can dress it up for dessert however, by adding a dollop of whipped cream to the top of each serving along with some fruit or berries.

It reminds me very much of the cake that my mother used to bake for us when I was a child. My father always enjoyed it split and filled with jam. We all did.
That was a somewhat sturdier cake however. This Irish Tea cake has a much lighter texture and crumb. Mom's was a hot milk cake, which is also a very simple cake. Oh how we loved it when she had baked one.

Like most Irish fare, you will find that this is a simple cake using humble ingredients. Ingredients that most of us always have in our kitchen larder. Eggs, flour, milk, baking powder, sugar, vanilla, butter.
Its simple really and I find that in life, the best things really are quite simple.

Ireland was one place I had always wanted to visit when I was living in the U.K. I never got there unfortunately. Our Landlord was Irish and he was always inviting us to come over and stay in his cottage.
He had the gift of the gab as do most Irish. They are a warm and friendly and very entertaining people with big hearts of gold.

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE IRISH TEA CAKE
Very simple and humble ingredients. There is nothing spectacular here, except for the flavor and texture of the finished cake!

1/2 cup (120g) butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 large free range eggs, room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (220g) plain all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
1 TBS icing sugar to dust over the top

I just use regular salted butter. I find the butter available today is not highly salted as it used to be. Oh how I miss the Danish Lurpak butter which I used to buy in the U.K. It was lovely.
As a person on their own I cannot afford to keep two different kinds of butter in my larder. I only buy salted and if need be I will cut back on the amount of salt required in the recipe. It always works well for me.

If you are in the U.K. I would suggest you use Caster sugar, which is much finer than the granulated sugar available there. Here in North America, or at least in Canada, the granulated sugar is not as coarse as it is in the U.K.
Also in the U.K. use plain flour, not self raising. Plain flour is what is called all-purpose flour in North America. You will need baking powder with all purpose flour, a bit of salt also.
Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature for the best results and do not over beat or mix the cake. Over beating will result in a cake with a tougher crumb and texture. A light touch is key here.

HOW TO MAKE IRISH TEA CAKE
You do not need any special equipment to make this. I did use an electric hand mixer, but you could probably do it really well with just a wooden spoon, as how they would have done it in the old country.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch round cake tin really well and line the bottom with baking parchment. Set aside.Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.Cream the butter and sugar together in another bowl using an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla until creamy and smooth.Gently mix in 1/3 of the flour, just to incorporate. Add half of the milk, again just to incorporate. Repeat and then add the remaining flour at the end. Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing over the top.Bake for 26 to 32 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top should spring back when lightly touched.Place onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely in the tin. Once cooled, turn out onto a serving plate and dust the top with icing sugar to serve.

This really is a lovely cake. I would serve it to company. You can dress it up or you can dress it down. It has a beautiful moist crumb and texture.
It is not too sweet and has a lovely rich vanilla flavor. I quite enjoyed this. I think I have found a new favorite cake!

Some other delicious and yet simple cake recipes here in The English Kitchen that you might enjoy over the holidays are:

EGGNOG CAKE - This is a lovely and dense Bundt cake with a texture which is very similar to a pound cake. It uses eggnog in the batter as well as some warm baking spices for a cake that is lightly spiced. Glazed it makes for a beautiful dessert, especially if you add a scoop of ice cream! To be honest it is delicious any which way. If you cannot get eggnog just use heavy cream in its place and up the spices. You will still have a very delicious cake with a beautiful texture.

SWEDISH VISITING CAKE - This is the kind of cake that would be perfectly comfortable sitting on the tea table, meant to be shared between friends and a nice hot cup of tea. It has a beautiful texture and nice almond flavor, and is topped with flaked almonds. This is a favorite cake in my family.

Yield: 8 servingsAuthor: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 32 MinInactive time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 H & 12 MThis lovely cake is not overly sweet and flavored with vanilla. It is perfect for serving with hot drinks. Simple and delicious with a moist, tender texture.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (120g) butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 large free range eggs, room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (220g) plain all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
1 TBS icing sugar to dust over the top

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch round cake tin really well and line the bottom with baking parchment. Set aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together in another bowl using an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla until creamy and smooth.
Gently mix in 1/3 of the flour, just to incorporate. Add half of the milk, again just to incorporate. Repeat and then add the remaining flour at the end. Do not overmix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing over the top.
Bake for 26 to 32 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top should spring back when lightly touched.
Place onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely in the tin. Once cooled, turn out onto a serving plate and dust the top with icing sugar to serve.

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