Johnny Cake Recipes

JOHNNY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease thoroughly an 8 inch square cake pan.
• Combine cornmeal and milk. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir together the egg and milk.
• Cream shortening, and blend in sugar. Stir flour mixture and egg mixture alternately into creamed mixture alternately. Blend in cornmeal mixture.
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Serve hot, with maple syrup.

JOHNNYCAKES

Steps:

• Cream the cornmeal, salt, and butter together. Add the milk and enough water to make a moist but firm batter.
• Drop by large spoonfuls onto a hot greased griddle, and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon. When brown, turn and cook the other side.

TRADITIONAL JOHNNY CAKES

Steps:

• Combine the cornmeal, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl.Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Gradually pour the cornmeal mixture in a steady stream into the boiling water, whisking constantly. Turn off the heat and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth. Add the butter and whisk until melted and incorporated. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes (this will soften the grains to prevent a gritty texture as well as enable the consistency to thicken). At that point the consistency should resemble that of mashed potatoes. If it's still too runny let it sit a bit longer.
• Heat a cast iron or non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add some butter, oil, or bacon grease to the cast iron pan. If using non-stick still add a little oil/butter.Drop the batter in roughly 1/4 cup scoops onto the frying pan about 3 inches apart. Let the cakes fry undisturbed for several minutes until the edges are browned. This can take anywhere from 6-12 minutes. If you try and flip them too soon they will fall apart in a mushy mess so be patient. Once the edges are browned flip the cakes over and use a spatula to press them down to a thickness of no more than 1/4 inch so they can become nice and crispy. Continue to fry on the other side for several more minutes until the cakes are golden brown and crispy on the outside. Add a little more oil or butter when you flip them over to fry them on the other side.Transfer the cakes to a wire rack placed on baking sheet and put them in a warmed oven to keep warm while you make another batch.
• Serve hot with butter, maple butter, maple syrup, or applesauce.Makes twelve 3-inch Johnny cakes.

JOHNNY GRIDDLE CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together the milk, honey and egg yolks together in another medium bowl until combined. Whisk the egg whites in another medium bowl until stiff peaks form.
• Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in the egg whites, and then 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Mix until the batter is just smooth and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Heat a large nonstick saute pan, cast-iron pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Brush the pan with some of the remaining melted butter. Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the batter onto the pan for each johnny griddle cake. Spread the batter slightly just to even out the top using a small offset spatula. Cook until lightly golden brown on each side, about 1 minute 30 seconds per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.

JOHNNYCAKES

Steps:

• Combine sugar and salt with meal in large mixing bowl. Scald with boiling water and stir well. Thin immediately with milk to a mixture that will drop easily from spoon (additional milk may be necessary: mixture should be consistency of thin mashed potato).
• Drop by the spoonful onto medium hot griddle greased with 1 to 2 tablespoons of bacon grease or corn oil (do not let griddle get dry). Cook 5 to 6 minutes on each side until a brown, crunchy crust is formed and inside is soft. Serve hot with butter.

RHODE ISLAND JOHNNYCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Toast cornmeal, stirring often, until fragrant, about 5 minutes; transfer to a bowl, and whisk in 1 1/4 teaspoons salt.
• Pour boiling water into a heatproof bowl; gradually whisk in cornmeal. Stir in milk. Heat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet over medium heat; coat with a thin layer of oil (about 1 tablespoon). Drop batter by the tablespoon onto griddle. (If batter spatters violently, reduce heat to medium-low, so that johnnycakes are gently bubbling when they hit the griddle. You may need to add more hot water, 2 tablespoons at a time, until batter is pourable but still thick.) Cook 4 or 5 johnnycakes at a time, greasing griddle as needed, until bottoms are golden with lacy, crisp edges, about 5 minutes. Flip; cook until bottoms are crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet; warm in oven while others cook. Repeat with remaining batter.

PA'S OLD-FASHIONED JOHNNY CAKE / CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425; grease a 13x9 pan.
• Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl, stir through, make a well in the center.
• In another bowl, add eggs, milk, and oil all at once; blend well.
• Add wet to dry ingredients, stir until moistened (don't over-mix or you'll be sorry!).
• Fold in optional ingredients. Sausage should be in crumbles or bite-size pieces.
• Pour into prepared pan; rap pan on counter-top several times to bounce out the air-bubbles.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes--top will be golden-brown.
• Serve with butter and maple syrup.
• OPTION #1: Add 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese.
• OPTION #2: Add 1/2 - 1 cup of sweet corn (plain kernels); adds a neat "chewy" texture to the 'cake.'
• OPTION #3: Add 6 hard-boiled, chopped eggs.
• OPTION #4: Add 1 pound fried & drained pork sausage (crumbled) or links (bite-size).
• TIME-SAVING HINT: Gather a handful of 1-quart zipper bags, fill with DRY ingredients, and store in your cupboard. At meal-time, add wet ingredients as described.

JOHNNY CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat an electric griddle to 380 degrees. or place a griddle pan or large skillet over medium-high heat.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Add boiling water, and mix to combine. The batter will be thick. Using a tablespoon, drop the batter onto the griddle 2 inches apart for each johnny cake. Let cook for 6 minutes, turn and cook 5 minutes more.

MOM'S JOHNNY CAKE

Steps:

• Mom's instructions simply say: Mix all ingredients together. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
• I remember making this in a weird little rectangular pan, which I'm sure we greased. I would estimate this to fit in an 8 or 9 inch square pan, Adjust time accordingly, as the 8 inch will make a litte thicker cake. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean--no longer--so it will stay moist.