Clare’s Old Fashion Tea Cakes

i still go to farmers market in olde oakland hoping to find clare’s tea cake booth.
their tea cakes were the best i have ever had; it was similar to buttermilk scones. i have been on the search at other bakeries for tea cakes and they never come close to the taste and texture as clares. i would buy them often at the farmers market since i could never stop myself from having just one tea cake.
still in high hopes i’ll be able to find their baked goods somewhere!

I discovered Clare’s Old Fashion Tea Cakes on a Friday afternoon stroll through the Downtown Oakland Farmer’s Market. Since this was my first experience with a tea cake, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The lady at the sales table explained that tea cakes are like a biscuit /​cookie hybrid. Not as sweet as a cookie and not as flaky as a biscuit. They are disc-​shaped and kind of thick.
Bought the butterscotch tea cake and it sat in my desk drawer until Monday when I discovered it and ate it with, well, a cup of tea. The pure enjoyment — luscious butterscotch-​dipped crunchy yet moist biscuit cake — gave way to panic — I will need more SOOOON. The little plastic baggie had the name and website on it.
Clare’s is located in Oakland and it’s a small family business, using a recipe honed over many years. Batches are prepared to order, they ship to you and the price is right, $ 9.50 for a dozen. I’ve already sent boxes by the dozen to friends (and myself) as gifts. You can microwave them for 20 seconds, and they get all moist and steamy, but they’re just as good at room temperature right out of the wrapping. You can usually find Clare’s booth at the Farmer’s Market on Fridays.