Tea Cake (Pakistani Bakery Plain Cake)
ٹی کیک (پاکستانی بیکری کا سادہ کیک)
Every Pakistani bakery sells a plain cake known simply as tea cake or plain cake: a golden loaf with a soft, fine crumb, buttery and lightly sweet, sold whole or in slices to go with the evening chai. Some versions are dotted with colourful tutti frutti or a few raisins. It's the kind of cake that's always welcome and never too much, and this one-bowl recipe makes a moist loaf in about an hour.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr
- Prep: 15 min
- Cook: 45 min
- Easy
- Serves 10
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Heat the oven to 170°C and line a 23 cm loaf tin. Beat the butter, oil and sugar for 3–4 minutes until pale and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt alternately with the milk until just combined. Toss the tutti frutti in a spoon of flour and fold in.
Pour into the tin and bake for 45–50 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then on a rack. Slice and serve with tea.
Kitchen notes
Room-temperature eggs and soft butter make a smooth batter and a fine, even crumb.
Coating fruit in flour stops it sinking to the bottom.
No oven? Bake in a heavy pot on a stand, covered, on low heat for about 50 minutes.
The everyday cake
Tea cake is the cake Pakistani families buy when someone is coming over, or simply for evening tea. It’s plain on purpose: buttery, lightly sweet and soft, so it goes with strong milky chai. Bakeries often sell it by the slice wrapped in plastic, and the bright tutti frutti version is a childhood favourite.
A moist loaf
Butter gives flavour; a couple of spoons of oil keep the crumb moist for days. Beating the butter and sugar well and adding the eggs one at a time gives the fine, even texture of a good bakery cake.
Outside South Asia
This is close to a classic pound cake or Madeira cake, and all the ingredients are available everywhere. Tutti frutti (candied papaya) can be replaced with mixed candied peel or raisins.
Serving
Serve sliced with doodh patti or Kashmiri chai. Leftover slices make excellent cake rusk.
Questions people ask
Why did my cake crack on top?
A crack along the top of a loaf cake is normal and traditional; it shows a good rise.
Can I make it without eggs?
Yes. Replace the eggs with ¾ cup yogurt and add ½ tsp baking soda.
How long does it keep?
4–5 days wrapped at room temperature. It also makes excellent cake rusk.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 260
- Protein
- 4 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 32 g
