By Cake, Theme Park

Happy Friday! When Disney announced the special food offerings for the Disney100 celebration, I immediately knew I wanted to make the lemon tea cakes. After doing a little bit of research, I’m excited to share these Disney100 Lemon Tea Cakes! Inspired by the ones at Disneyland, these super moist tea cakes have a lemon cake base, lemon curd filling, and lemon glaze!

I wasn’t super familiar with making tea cakes so I did a little research. These tea cakes seemed similar to mini loaves of lemon pound cake and so that’s what I based my recipe off of. The official description for the lemon tea cakes also includes a lemon curd filling and a lemon zest glaze.

Disney100 Lemon Tea Cakes (three lemon cake loaves with white lemon icing on a tray with a Disney100 mug)

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A couple years ago I picked up a copy of Eat Like Walt. The book that goes through the history of food at Disneyland and even includes recipes for food served in the park and food that Walt Disney liked to eat. It’s a really interesting read if you like Disney and food! One of the things I remembered from the book was a discussion of tea cakes. These cakes were from a local bakery and were commonly enjoyed at the animation campus. Given the history of these tea cakes, it felt like this would be a good place to start.

After trying these tea cakes, I felt that I wanted more lemon. I really like lemon in baked goods and so for my recipe I added more lemon to the cake and glaze. Of course the addition of the lemon curd filling really gives the whole cake a fresh lemon punch!

To make these cakes, start by making the lemon curd because it needs time to set in the refrigerator. You’ll have some extra lemon curd, but it’s great on scones or as a filling for cupcakes or even on it’s own! If you’re in a time crunch or don’t want to make your own lemon curd, you can totally swap in a store bought lemon curd. Some popular ones are from Tiptree, Bonne Maman, or Stonewall Kitchen, but there are lots of options out there!

Start by combining the sugar and lemon zest in a small saucepan. This first part will all be off the heat, so you can have the pan on the stove or on the counter. Use your fingertips to massage the zest into the sugar until the mixture is fragrant and looks like wet sand.  Add the egg yolks and whole egg to the saucepan and whisk vigorously until the mixture is very pale and thick. Slowly stream in the lemon juice, whisking constantly until the mixture is smooth. Then, whisk in the salt. 

Now you’ll add the heat. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the curd turns opaque yellow and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat. It can stay on the stove or you can move it the counter. Whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, into the curd before adding the next. Whisk in the vanilla. 

Transfer the curd to a heat-safe bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of it to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until the curd is cold and set, at least 3 hours. Once you’ve assembled your tea cakes, any leftover lemon curd can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Once the curd has set, make the tea cakes. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the granulated sugar and lemon zest. Again use your fingertips to massage the zest into the sugar until the mixture is fragrant and looks like wet sand. 

Next, combine the oil, butter, and sugars in a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and eggs to the sugar mixture. Beat on low speed until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on medium high speed until combined. 

Transfer the batter to a mini loaf pan that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. For these I used Wilton’s mini loaf pan, which has 8 mini loaf cups. Fill each cup in the loaf pan about ¾ full. Bake the loaves at 350 F for 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

While the loaves are cooling, you can make the lemon glaze. For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and melted butter in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Set aside until you’re ready to decorate the tea cakes.

Transfer about a half cup of the lemon curd to a piping bag fitted with a bismark piping tip or a medium round piping tip. Insert the piping tip into the top center of the tea cake and pipe the lemon curd into the center of the cake until it is filled. A little lemon curd will bubble up out of the hole, just use a butter knife or offset spatula to smooth it into the top of the cake. Repeat with the remaining tea cakes.

Dip the tops of the filled tea cakes into the glaze. If you want to add any sprinkles or other decorations, gently press them into the glaze before it sets. I added a Mickey Mouse sprinkle to the tops of the tea cakes for a little touch of Disney magic. I used some leftover ones I had from a Mickey Mouse Gingerbread House Kit. But you could use other colors or even use a clean, never been used with paint, paint brush and some yellow food color to paint a little Mickey design onto the hardened glaze. Let the glaze set for about 5 minutes before serving.

Disney100 Lemon Tea Cakes (one lemon cake loaf with white lemon icing on a tray with a Disney100 mug)

Enjoy these Disney100 Lemon Tea Cakes with a nice cup tea or coffee!

Disney100 Lemon Tea Cakes (three lemon cake loaves with white lemon icing on a tray with a Disney100 mug)
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Disney100 Lemon Tea Cakes

Inspired by the tea cakes served at Disneyland, these super moist Disney100 Lemon Tea Cakes have a lemon cake base, lemon curd filling, and a lemon glaze!
Course Dessert
Keyword Disney100, Disneyland
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour
Rest Time 3 hours
Total Time 5 hours
Servings 8 tea cakes

Ingredients

Lemon Curd

  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 1 large egg
  • ¾ cup lemon juice (5-6 lemons)
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces, chilled
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Tea Cake

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ⅔ cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely grated
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature

Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Equipment

  • mini loaf pan
  • piping bag
  • bismark or medium round piping tip
  • Decoration
  • Mickey Mouse sprinkles

Instructions

Lemon Curd

  1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingertips to massage the zest into the sugar until the mixture is fragrant and looks like wet sand.
  2. Add the egg yolks and whole egg to the saucepan and whisk vigorously until the mixture is very pale and thick, about 2 minutes.
  3. Slowly stream in the lemon juice, whisking constantly until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the salt.
  4. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the curd turns opaque yellow and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 7-10 minutes. Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat.
  5. Whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, waiting for each piece to disappear into the curd before adding the next. Whisk in the vanilla.
  6. Transfer the curd to a heat-safe bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of it to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until the curd is cold and set, at least 3 hours. Not all of the lemon curd will be needed for the tea cakes. Leftover curd can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Lemon Tea Cakes

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a mini loaf pan with cooking spray.
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingertips to massage the zest into the sugar until the mixture is fragrant and looks like wet sand.
  4. Combine the oil, butter, and sugars together in a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  5. Add the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and eggs to the sugar mixture. Beat on low speed until combined.
  6. Add the flour mixture and beat on medium high speed until combined.
  7. Transfer the batter to the prepared mini loaf pan, filling each cup about ¾ full.
  8. Bake the loaves for 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  9. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Glaze

  1. Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and melted butter in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.

Assembly

  1. Transfer ½ cup of the lemon curd to a piping bag fitted with a bismarck piping tip or a medium round piping tip.
  2. Insert the piping tip into the top center of the tea cake and pipe the lemon curd into it. Use a butter knife or offset spatula to smooth the top of the tea cake.
  3. Dip the tops of the tea cakes into the glaze. If desired, gently press a small Mickey sprinkle onto the top of the tea cake. Let the glaze harden for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

lemon curd adapted from Claire Saffitz 

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