Williamsburg Cornmeal Batter Cakes Recipes

WILLIAMSBURG CORNMEAL BATTER CAKES

Steps:

• Heat the milk and water in a large saucepan almost to boiling. Add the cornmeal in a stream, whipping until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
• Add the remaining ingredients and beat well with a wire whisk. The batter will be thin.
• Grease a 9 or 10-inch nonstick skillet or crêpe pan and heat over medium-high heat. Allow about 1/4 cup batter for each cake, enough to cover the bottom of the skillet. Cook one cake at a time. Turn once when small bubbles appear on the surface.
• Note: The batter tends to thicken toward the last of the cakes. If this happens, add a small amount of water or milk to restore the original consistency.
• Additional batter cakes can be frozen between squares of waxed paper for future use. Thaw completely and warm slightly before using.

WILLIAMSBURG ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan, two 9-inch round cake pans, or three 8-inch round cake pans.
• In a large bowl, combine cake flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix in butter, shortening, buttermilk, eggs, raisins, nuts, orange zest and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes on high speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Bake 9x13 inch pan 45 to 50 minutes, or layers 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool, and frost with Williamsburg Butter Frosting.

PECAN-CORNMEAL BUTTER CAKES

Steps:

• In a small pan, simmer butter over low heat until light brown and toasty, 8 to 10 minutes. Strain and set aside.
• In a food processor, rapidly pulse pecans, confectioners' sugar and 1/4 cup granulated sugar until finely ground.
• Sift flour and baking powder together. Mix in cornmeal and salt. Mix in pecan-sugar mixture.
• Whisk egg whites and vanilla together just to combine and whisk into dry ingredients. Whisk in melted butter. Refrigerate batter at least three hours or overnight.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Thickly butter 10 four-inch tartlet pans or a muffin-top tin. Dust well with cornmeal. Fill each a little more than halfway. If you have extra batter, make a second batch.
• Bake until golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 to 10 minutes in pans, then immediately turn out on a rack. Serve warm, topped with berries (if you like, stir with a little sugar and set aside for a few minutes), ice cream or whipped cream.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S MORNING CORN CAKES

Steps:

• The night before you plan to eat the corn cakes, combine 1 cup of the cornmeal, 1 1/2 cups of the lukewarm water, and the yeast in a medium-size nonreactive bowl. Whisk well; the mixture will be thin. Cover bowl tightly and let sit overnight in a warm place.
• The next morning, whisk in the remaining 1 cup cornmeal, salt, and one egg. Re-cover the bowl; let it stand 15-20 minutes (allowing the just-added cornmeal to absorb some of the liquid and soften a little bit).
• Check the consistency; it should be close to a thin pancake batter, not nearly liquid and not as thick as heavy cream. If you need to, add a little more lukewarm water to achieve this.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Oil lightly with a paper towel dipped in oil, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Stir batter well; using a ladle, pour 3-4 thin, 3-inch pancakes onto the hot skillet. Batter will spread out fairly thin; if it doesn't sizzle a little as you pour it, skillet isn't hot enough. If it sizzles a lot, you may need to reduce heat.
• Now watch closely. Almost immediately you'll see little bubbles appear throughout. When the top surface is completely dry and edges are beginning to curling, flip one cake. It should be golden-brown, and nicely speckled. Cook about 1 minute for the first side and 30-50 seconds on the second side. Repeat with remaining cakes and batter. (Making sure to stir batter occasionally so it doesn't separate.).
• Serve with honey and butter, if desired.

WILLIAMSBURG ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir raisins and nuts into the dry ingredients and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening and blend in 1 cup of the sugar.
• Beat the eggs and add to the creamed mixture. Add vanilla and orange zest and mix well.
• Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with 1/2 cup buttermilk, and mix until well blended. Pour batter into a greased 9-inch square pan and bake for 40 minutes.
• While the cake is baking, combine the orange juice with the remaining cup of sugar.
• Spread tthis glaze over the top of the hot cake and immediately return it to the oven for about 10 minutes, until the glaze bubbles and the cake tests done when you insert a toothpick or wooden skewer near the center.
• Let the cake cool in the pan before turning it out onto a serving plate.The glaze may be sticky so run a dull knife around the edges of the cake before coaxing it out of the pan.

WILLIAMSBURG ORANGE CAKE WITH WILLIAMSBURG BUTTER FROSTING

Steps:

• FOR THE CAKE: Combine first 10 ingredients. Blend with an electric mixer 30 seconds on low speed; beat 3 minutes on high speed. Stir in raisins and pecans.
• Pour into 3 greased and floured 8 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely. Spread Williamsburg Butter Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish cake with orange rind and sections. Yield: one 3 layer cake.
• FOR THE BUTTER FROSTING: Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add orange rind and juice; beat until smooth. Yield: enough for one 3 layer cake.
• The Southern Heritage Cakes Cookbook.