I’ve been baking. Among the things I’ve explored lately are teacakes.
The word “teacake” transports me through time. When I was a college freshman, living a new quasi-independent life, but homesick at times, I went to the campus post office to find a package waiting for me.
When I think of teacakes, I am transported to a memory. A college freshman, living a new quasi-independent life, but homesick at times, I went to the campus post office to find a package waiting for me.
The package was from Aunt Nellie. A shoebox full of tea cakes. They were wrapped in waxed paper, layers and layers of tea cakes. The box was heavy – full of love.
My suite-mates and friends on the hall in the dorm were as excited as I was. A couple of us went across the street from campus and bought a jar of peanut butter. Part of this memory is that we had to put on dresses – because girls were not allowed to wear slacks in town. We could wear “pant suits” (not jeans!!!) to class, but if we left campus, we were “representing the school” and had to dress appropriately.
Back to the tea cakes. They were fabulous! I ate Aunt Nellie’s teacakes all my life and loved them – but these were especially memorable. Because that box was filled with love from home ( I now realize she must have been missing me terribly in those days) and shared with loving friends who impacted my life forever!
I don’t always put peanut butter on my teacakes, but sometimes I do. And that was a critical element when the box arrived from home…I had to share them with peanut butter!
I don’t have Aunt Nellie’s recipe – when she died, my mother asked if there was anything I especially wanted from her house. I had a long list including her “receipt book”. The book was a spiral bound calendar from some insurance company. But she used it to write down her recipes. When I got it, I immediately searched out the teacake recipe. It said; sugar, flour, butter, egg, soda. Nothing else.
That was all the information that she needed…a reminder of what ingredients to include. That was insufficient information for me.
The recipe I used is one from the White Lily Baking Company’s website, with a few modifications of mine. I omit the nutmeg and add 1 teaspoon of almond extract. (Update: Since writing this, I’ve made them using lemon extract instead of almond and they are the best yet! Lemon tea cakes don’t need peanut butter or nutella – they are great on their own.)
The photo at the top has teacakes on one of Aunt Nellie’s plates.
On Valentine’s Day, I made some teacakes that were heart shaped….and we upped our game adding Nutella instead of peanut butter. Oh, yeah!
And speaking of hearts, I’m still making stuffed ones. I’ve added a few more red ones to the big bowl. And, I baked heart-shaped buttermilk biscuits on Valentine’s Day.
Note: My Aunt Nellie was such an important figure in my life that I’ve written about her again and again. She’s one of the Spinster Sisters, and she’s featured in Miss Nellie’s Country Garden. I mention her every time I talk about geraniums and often when cooking. Typing “Nellie” in the search box will keep you busy reading for a few minutes, at least.