You need very few ingredients to make this lovely cinnamon teacake. Perfect for serving for morning or afternoon tea, it’s lightly sweet and full of cinnamon flavour.

  • Incredibly easy to make.
  • Tender, fluffy crumb texture.
  • Buttery, cinnamon flavour.
  • Minimal ingredients.
  • Can be made ahead.

Teacake: A simple buttery yet light cake, often flavoured with cinnamon and served as a light morning tea treat. This is an Aussie classic recipe. You’re going to love this one. It’s just sweet enough, without being sickeningly sweet and goes lovely with a cuppa.

Don’t skip the cinnamon sugar topping – it adds lovely crunch and just the right amount of sweetness. The best thing, aside from the flavour of course, is just how absolutely easy this cake is to make.

You’ll love this cinnamon apple crumb cake and this apple tray bake cake too.

Side on shot of a slice of cinnamon teacake.

Ingredients you’ll need

This lovely and humble cinnamon cake recipe uses just simple everyday ingredients. You have to love that.

Ingredients for cinnamon teacake on a baking tray.

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

  • Flour: You’ll need plain flour (aka all purpose flour) for this tea cake recipe.
  • Baking powder: Baking powder is our leavener here, giving the cake lift. Make sure not to confuse it with baking soda and make sure your baking powder is fresh.
  • Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon adds so much flavour to this cake.
  • Salt: Always a touch of salt to intensify flavours.
  • Butter: This cinnamon tea cake is a butter cake at heart so we need good unsalted butter to really get that prominent buttery flavour. Make sure it’s softened before you start.
  • Sugar: Just granulated sugar or caster sugar is all you need, though if you have brown sugar, that works too.
  • Eggs: Use large eggs and make sure they’re at room temperature when you start. If they’re cold just sit them in warm water for 10 minutes.
  • Vanilla: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavour. It’s also a natural flavouring as opposed to essence.
  • Milk: Use whole milk in this recipe for the best texture.

How to make cinnamon teacake (step-by-step)

This simple cinnamon tea cake makes next to no time to make.

A collage showing how to make cinnamon teacake.

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

  1. Dry ingredients: Combine the dry ingredients and mix them well. Set aside.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar: Cream together the butter and sugar until it looks pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until they’re just combined and adding the vanilla with the second egg.
  3. Flour and milk: Now add the flour mixture 13 at a time, alternated with ½ the milk at a time. So flour, milk, flour, milk, flour. Make sure to mix until just combined each time, don’t overmix.
  4. Bake: Tip the thick batter into a prepared 8 inch cake tin or sandwich tin and bake for around 40 minutes. Once it comes out, let it cool for 5-10 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a cooling rack.
  5. Cinnamon sugar topping: Combine cinnamon and sugar and set aside. Brush the top of the cake with melted butter, then dust the cinnamon sugar all over the top. Make sure to use it all.
A slice of cinnamon teacake on a plate with cream.

Tips and tricks

  • Weigh ingredients: I definitely recommend weighing ingredients like flour and sugar when a weight is given in any recipe. The weight is the most precise way to give the amount and will always yield the best results. Kitchen scales are cheap but if you don’t have them, use the spoon and level method instead.
  • All ovens vary: I can’t say this enough. All ovens are different and no matter what the temperature is set to, it’s very common for oven thermostats to be off. I recommend keeping an oven thermometer inside your oven, two if it’s a large oven, to check the temperature manually.  What take 40 minutes in my oven, might take 35 or 45 in yours when set at the same temp.
  • Room temperature ingredients: Make sure to start with softened butter and room temperature eggs and milk. This just helps the batter blend together properly.
  • Scrape down the bowl: Make sure, as you’re beating the butter and then the eggs, that you scrape down the bowl often so everything is blending together.
  • Don’t overmix: Mixing the batter too much can result in dense or dry cakes so just make sure to mix until everything is just combined.
  • Don’t use old baking powder: If your baking powder is very old, it may not work as well as fresh baking powder.

Yield and storage

This cinnamon tea cake serves 10-12.

You can store the cake at room temperature, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days or in the fridge for 5-6 days. Cinnamon teacake can also be frozen. Slice it first, then freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. You can let pieces thaw at room temperature for about ½ an hour or warm them in the microwave.

Top down view of a cinnamon cake cut into slices.

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4 slices of a cinnamon tea cake on a cake plate.
4.7 from 3 ratings
This cinnamon teacake is sweet and buttery yet light and fluffy and it’s so easy to make. A simple cake batter is baked, then topped with butter and cinnamon sugar for the perfect tea-time treat.

Ingredients

  • 225 g plain flour (all-purp flour) (1 ¾ cups)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 170 g unsalted butter, softened (¾ cup / 1 ½ sticks / 6oz)
  • 200 g caster sugar or white granulated sugar (1cup / 7oz)
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ cup whole milk, room temperature

TOPPING

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted (14g / 0.5oz)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, extra
  • 1 tablespoon caster sugar or white granulated sugar, extra

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) / 350F. Grease an 8 inch cake pan and line the base with baking paper.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Whisk to disperse and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer (or stand mixer with paddle attachment) beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Add the eggs one at a time, adding the vanilla with the last egg, beating each time in until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Add ⅓ of the flour mixture and stir in with a spatula until just combined. Add half the milk and stir that in. Repeat – flour, milk, flour – until it's all just combined. Don't overmix.
  • Tip the cake batter into the prepared pan and level out the top. Bake for around 40 minutes – when done a toothpick should come out with just some sticky crumbs attached (not wet batter).
  • Let it cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes then turn it out onto a wire rack.
  • Immediately, brush the top with melted butter.
  • Combine the sugar and cinnamon, mix well, then sprinkle all of it over the cake. Don’t leave any behind.
  • Can be eaten while warm or cooled to room temperature. It’s lovely served with some whipped cream or just a little ice cream on the side.
  • Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.

Notes

  1. For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
  2. All ovens vary – always test for doneness 3-5 minutes before the recipe suggests.
  3. Storage: You can store the cake at room temperature, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days or in the fridge for 5-6 days. Cinnamon teacake can also be frozen. Slice it first, then freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.