Tea cake is a generic name for any type of cake that is served with tea as an afternoon snack or light dessert option. Usually, tea cakes distinguish themselves from other types of cake by their light flavors and textures, similarity to quick breads and lack of frosting. Depending on ingredient and serving size specifics, they can be light snacks or big calorie drains.
Types
One of the most well-known types of tea cake is actually a cookie. Called Russian Tea Cakes, these tiny cookies have a buttery flavor and are coated with powdered sugar. Other types of tea cake have the texture and flavor of quick breads. Many are accented with bright, punchy flavors, such as citrus ingredients, or spices, such as nutmeg, ginger or cinnamon.
Nutrition
Nutritional information varies among cake recipes and types. A traditional Betty Crocker recipe for Russian Tea cakes has 75 calories, 5 g fat, 55 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrates, no cholesterol, no fiber and a negligible amount of protein per cookie. Alternatively, an orange tea cake recipe from the May 2001 issue of Cooking Light has about 290 calories, 9 g fat, 3 g protein, 48 g carbohydrates, 272 mg sodium, 45 mg cholesterol and no fiber per serving.
Ingredients
It's evident that ingredients play a big role in the final calorie count and health value of any tea cake recipe. Using butter and refined white sugar may result in a tasty cake, but it won't add much nutritional value. When baking, substitute unhealthy ingredients for more diet-friendly alternatives. For example, in its recipe for pumpkin-hazelnut tea cake, the Mayo Clinic recommends upping the health quotient of the recipe by using fresh pureed pumpkin, nutritious hazelnuts, whole-wheat flour and flaxseed, and substituting honey for white sugar.
Calories
The number of calories in a serving of tea cake depends upon several factors, most notably the ingredients in the cake and the size of the serving. If tea is the main attraction at an event and you eat only a small square of cake, it's likely that you won't be downing more than a couple of hundred calories, no matter how indulgent the small slice may be. However, large servings of cake, especially if they contain a lot of butter and sugar, can pack in 500 calories or more.
Considerations
Most types of tea cake are desserts that don't satisfy the nutritional requirements for a normal healthy diet. Although they may contain small amounts of fruits, vegetables or whole grains, tea cakes aren't nutritious enough to meet MyPyramid's recommendations for healthy, varied servings of such food groups. To receive personalized nutritional recommendations and advice for any eating plan, speak with your doctor or a registered dietitian.
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