From 1913:
Muffins and crumpets make excellent additions to afternoon tea, but one is apt to get a little tired of their unfailing recurrence on the tea menu the winter through. Tea cakes make a pleasant variation to this monotony. The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients:
One pound of dried flour, one teaspoonful of baking powder, two ounces of butter, one ounce of castor sugar, one egg and a little milk.
Rub the butter into the flour, add the other dry ingredients and make them into a light dough with the egg and milk. Roll out three-quarters of an inch thick, and cut them into rounds. Brush these over with milk and bake in a quick oven. Split open and butter them. Serve either hot or cold.