Tennessee - T cakes

Tea Cakes are a very traditional, southern sweet.  Think cross between a cake and cookie with a not too sweet, vanilla flavor.  Some are dusted with sugar, others frosted and decorated, but all were served with tea (sweet, iced that is) or coffee.  


Now, Tennessee T-cakes are different and were made popular by an entrepreneur in Nashville named Frances Barkley.  She used her family's 100 year old recipe to start a thriving business with a unique product that made it onto Oprah's favorite things list one year. Unfortunately, Frances passed away and her business is no longer around - but I found a copy cat recipe for her famous T-cakes and wanted to feature it for Tennessee. 


what to expect...
While these little baked goodies are shaped like a  cupcake or muffin, and are called T-"cakes", they taste nothing like cake.  They are rich and gooey and in a category of their own that is hard to describe, even after eating a lot of them (in the name of research, of course)!  ; )  

ingredients
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup salted butter, melted and hot 
1 large egg
2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla
3/4 cup all purpose flour
powdered sugar, for garnish


recipe

• preheat oven to 350 degrees
• add the brown sugar and white sugar to the melted butter and set aside (some of the brown sugar will melt)
• in mixer with paddle attachment, gently mix the egg and bourbon vanilla
• add the butter and sugar mixture to the egg mixture and beat on low until mixed well
• add flour all at once to mixer.  mix well until ribbon-like
• bake in paper lined mini-muffin tin for 14 minutes, turning at 7 minutes.
• dust with powdered sugar when cool

Simply ahhh-ma-zing!  Love these and can't wait to bake more!  

Enjoy!

mbf