There’s something about the tea cake. It’s not as visually stunning as some other treats, and it’s not as sweet either. It may not be as iconic as the pound cake or peach cobbler, but still. Tea cakes have earned their place in discussions about Southern culinary culture.
After all, tea cakes have served as brain food for civil rights leaders during late-night strategy sessions; conversation starters over a hot pot of coffee; living memories of elders who made them for us as children. Tea cakes have played a significant role in Black culinary history, and we’ve found a few bakers around the country who are bringing the old fashioned dessert into the future.
Check below for our roundup of some of the best Black-owned tea cakes around the country.
Miss Peabody’s – Denver, CO
Website | Instagram | Facebook | (720) 589-3195
Pamela Richard is carrying the tea cake torch from one generation to the next. “When I’m baking, I can feel my grandmother hugging me,” she once wrote. Pamela started Miss Peabody’s Southern Tea Cakes after being in a low place following a recent lay off from her job. In the midst of her misery, she found joy and healing in memories of her grandmother lovingly crafting tea cakes for her family. Pamela has turned that feeling into a business, selling her grandmother’s traditional Southern tea cakes all the way up in Denver, CO. But she has expanded on her family’s classic recipe, selling flavors like lemon, hazelnut chocolate, candied yam, and banana foster. Oh, and she also makes a gluten-free version!
Bea Blessed Bakery – Little Rock, AR
Instagram | Facebook | 501-372-1555
In Little Rock, AR, Bea Blessed Bakery is putting tea cakes on the map. Serving them in the Little Rock Market Hall beside a smorgasbord of foods from all over the world – Japan, India, the Middle East, etc. – their tea cakes give visitors a taste of the South. They sell classic, caramel, banana, and citrus-flavored tea cakes, as well as other baked goods like apple walnut muffins and yummy fall loaves.
Gwen’s Specialty Cakes –Inglewood, CA
Website | Instagram | Facebook | 310-677-9979
With more than 25 years of baking experience, Gwen Vance’s confections are known far and wide for their homemade, buttery taste. In addition to tea cakes, she makes all manner of southern desserts, like peach cobbler, bread pudding, beignets, pralines, and even creations like her sweet potato pecan tarts. They also have a Soul Food Sunday, where, in addition to some good old fashioned tea cakes, you can get staples like baked chicken with gravy, okra, macaroni and cheese, and more. Click here to make holiday tea cake or dessert orders.
Sugar Rush Too OST – Houston, TX
Instagram | Facebook | 713-747-7874
Sugar Rush Too OST can make grandiose cakes that are a fit for a king, princess cakes for a sweet 16, and a good old fashioned tea cake that you can take to your granny for Sunday dinner. They come two in a bag, perfect to grab and take to a study session at a nearby Black-owned coffee shop, or to a meet-up with friends. If you’re lucky, you might catch them doing one of their more expansive pop-ups, where they also sell things like fresh boudin and boudin egg rolls.
Ms. Myrtle’s Bakery Shoppe– Houston, TX
Website | Instagram | Facebook | 713-951-9211
Formerly “Not Jus’ Donuts,” the motto for Ms. Myrtle’s Bakery Shoppe is “a taste of Southern sweetness.” That taste has been so revered in the community that they have been in business for more than 20 years, earning them praise and recognition from the mayor. Here, you can get all the Southern dessert classics, tasting like they came straight out of your grandmother’s kitchen. Try Nana’s Homemade Banana Pudding, Myrtle’s Best Peach Cobbler, and, of course, Grandma Delia’s Tea Cakes. Rest in peace to the shop’s matriarch, Ms. Myrtle, who passed in late September 2021.
Big Mama’s Tea Cakes and Cookies – Houston, TX
Facebook | 713-256-4775
Big Mama’s Tea Cakes and Cookies is a food truck that pops up at various locations around the city, but can mostly be found in front of the Estancia San Miguel Apartments. Using a passed down family recipe, Big Mama’s Tea Cakes serve the treats in flavors like lemon, vanilla, lemon pecan, cinnamon, chocolate, pecan, and almond. All for a dollar a piece! If you call ahead you can get them without sugar or gluten. .
