New-england Johnny Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Stir enough cornmeal into the buttermilk to make a thin batter.
Add one teaspoonful of salt and the beaten egg.
Dissolve one teaspoonful of soda in a little warm water.
Mix the soda water through the batter.
Ensure the batter is thin so it can almost run.
Bake and serve
Bake the batter in shallow pans.
If the result is not light, it is because the batter was too thick with cornmeal.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Cornmeal (in the method)
- Forms the body of the cake, giving it its structure and grainy texture.
- Buttermilk (in the method)
- Supplies moisture and acidity, which reacts with the soda to help the cake rise.
- Egg (in the method)
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness as it sets in the oven.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to release gas, lightening the batter as it bakes.
The step that matters
Keep the batter thin. A thin batter lets the soda's gas spread and lift the cornmeal, producing a light cake. Too much cornmeal makes the batter thick and dense, so the rise is weak.
“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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