Glazed Irish Tea Cake
Submitted by ravenchik
Irish tea cake with cream cheese and buttermilk batter studded with dried currants, finished with a bright lemon glaze. Tender crumb that keeps for days.
YIELD
10 servingsPREP
35 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
2 hrsThis Irish tea cake gets its incredibly tender crumb from a combination of cream cheese and buttermilk in the batter. That duo keeps each slice moist and rich without being heavy, exactly what you want alongside a strong cup of tea.
The dried currants get tossed in flour before folding in, which stops them from sinking to the bottom during the long bake. It’s a small step that makes a real difference in how evenly the fruit distributes through the loaf.
Once out of the oven, the cake gets a simple lemon glaze while still warm so it soaks right into the crust. That hit of citrus cuts through the butter and cream cheese richness perfectly.
Kitchen Tips
- Let the butter and cream cheese come fully to room temperature before creaming. Cold cream cheese leaves lumps that won’t bake out.
- The cake will crack on top during baking. That’s normal and actually a sign of a proper rise.
- Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk in batches. Dumping it all in at once can make the batter tough.
- Stores well wrapped in foil at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Variations
- Swap currants for golden raisins or dried cranberries for a different fruit character.
- Add a teaspoon of lemon zest to the batter for even more citrus punch.
- Replace the lemon glaze with an orange glaze using fresh orange juice and powdered sugar.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 F, with rack in center of oven.
Generously grease a 9-inch (7-cup capacity) loaf pan.
Dust with flour; tap pan over sink to discard excess flour.
Cut piece of parchment paper or waxed paper to fit bottom of pan.
Set aside.
FOR CAKE, use mixer to cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy.
Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating each until fluffy.
Add cream cheese.
Mix until well combined.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
Put currants in small bowl.
Add ¼ cup of flour mixture to currants.
Stir currants until well coated.
Add remaining flour to batter, alternating with buttermilk.
Mix until smooth.
Use wooden spoon to stir in currants and all of the flour.
Stir until well combined.
Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Smooth surface with spatula.
Bake until well-browned and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour, 25 minutes.
Cake will crack on top.
Let cake rest in pan for 10 minutes.
Use flexible metal spatula to separate cake from sides of pan.
Carefully remove cake from pan to cooling rack.
Spread glaze on warm cake.
Let cake cool completely.
Cake can be stored 3 days at room temperature in foil.
Cake can also be frozen up to 3 months, wrapped airtight.
FOR GLAZE, combine sugar and lemon juice in small bowl.
Stir until smooth.
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