Sponge Cakes Vs Tea Cakes: What's The Difference?

Whether you're a veteran baker or trying to keep it simple with your home baking adventures, a no-fail sponge cake is an important part of your repertoire. Toothsome enough to eat on its own as a snack or teatime accompaniment, a good sponge cake also forms the starting point for more complex desserts like layer cakes and trifle. The list of ingredients is basic, as is the recipe. However, certain simple mistakes can make your sponge cake sink, so it's important to pay close attention to ingredient measurements and oven temperatures. Funnily enough, if your sponge fails to rise, you might be left with something that's closer to a tea cake than a regular sponge cake.

A Southern favorite, tea cakes are sometimes more cookie than cake. Made from similar ingredients to a sponge cake, they have an interesting history that's rooted in Europe as well as the American South. While cakes were a luxury treat for the wealthy during the medieval era because the sugar and fruits they contained were expensive ingredients at the time, the American version of tea cakes is quite the opposite. They are thought to have originated amongst workers in slavery-era Southern plantations.

While it's generally very easy to distinguish between sponge and tea cakes, in terms of texture, the latter straddles multiple sweet treats, which can sometimes make things confusing. It can be compared to a dense cake or a cookie with cake-like or bread-like consistency. There is also a good amount of overlap in ingredients, with flour, eggs, sugar, and butter (or oil) common in both. Most notably, because of its denser texture, tea cakes will generally either use fewer leavening agents or not require whipped egg whites, which give sponge cake their fluffiness.

Sponge cakes are so universal, and they often don't get the importance they deserve, especially considering how many desserts start with a good sponge. Interestingly, much like the case with tea cakes, Britain also played a role in popularizing sponge cakes. While they're thought to have originated in either Italy or Spain, by the 17th century, sponge cakes had made their way to Britain. Several historical accounts mention Queen Victoria's fondness for sponge cakes, leading to a layered version being popularly known as Victorian Sponge. However, before the invention of baking powder in the mid-19th century, it's likely that the original sponge cakes weren't as light and airy as the ones today.

Sponge cakes are now defined by their light and fluffy crumb, which is what distinguishes them from regular cakes. This airy texture is achieved through multiple ways, either with leavening agents, replacing butter with oil (for a spongier crumb), or with whipped egg whites. Cream of tartar also goes into some recipes to help the egg whites retain their fluffiness. Once baked, you can place the cake tin upside down on a wire rack to ensure the sponge doesn't collapse as it cools.

When it comes to flavoring, sponge cakes are kept simple, usually infused with light sweetness and hints of vanilla or cocoa. This is what makes them such a versatile base to build desserts on. Topping or layering them with cream and fruit preserves is common, and they can also be soaked in liquids like black coffee or rum for additional flavor.

Tea cakes can be of a few different varieties depending on where they're made. The original British tea cakes are closer to buns, often eaten warm (or toasted) and slathered with butter. The lightly sweet flavor is consistent across tea cakes, but some English varieties contain warming spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and dried fruits. Stateside Southern tea cakes veer more towards lightly sweetened soft cookies, with the spices and dry fruits replaced with just some salt and vanilla flavoring to balance the sweetness. The simpler list of ingredients is most likely because of the more humble origins of the Southern tea cakes amongst slavery-era plantation workers.

While both sponge and tea cakes use ingredients that you probably already have at home, it's generally easier to make tea cakes since they require less whisking, and there isn't a danger of them collapsing once taken out of the oven. While a sponge cake requires careful handling and accurately adjusting your oven temperature, tea cakes can be made in the form of a loaf (which is easier to slice and toast) or portioned out with a scoop and made like cookies. When choosing the latter, you also have some more leeway with how you bake them, since oven temperature affects a cookie's texture.

For a sweet and airy accompaniment or snack, tea cakes are an easier option. While you can add simple icing or a dusting of sugar, they do lack the decadence that's possible with a sponge cake. Therefore, if you're veering more towards dessert territory, make the added effort of baking a sponge cake, which you can then soak and layer with flavors.