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Journey or Johnny Cakes

A thick batter of cornmeal fried into small cakes.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Journey or Johnny Cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Sift and scald the Indian meal with water to make a very thick batter.

  2. Add 2-3 teaspoons of salt.

Shape and fry

  1. Mold the mixture into small cakes using your hands.

  2. Dust the cakes with flour to prevent sticking.

  3. Fry the cakes in enough fat to cover them until brown on one side.

  4. Turn the cakes.

  5. Cook for about 20 minutes.

Serve

  1. Split the cakes.

  2. Butter them before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Indian meal
Cornmeal forms the body of the cakes and sets into a firm, starchy crumb when cooked.
Water
Hydrates the meal so it forms a thick batter that holds its shape when molded.
Fat
Conducts heat into the cakes and browns their surface during frying.
Flour
Forms a dry coating on the cakes that reduces sticking in the pan and helps browning.

The step that matters

Make the batter very thick. A stiff batter holds its shape when molded and fried. If it is too wet, the cakes spread and stick, and they will not brown evenly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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