Hoe Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Scald the Indian meal in enough water to make a thick batter.
Mix in the butter, baking soda, and salt.
Pour the mixture into a battered pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes.
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
- Forms the body of the batter, giving the cakes their structure and grainy texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender crumb.
- Baking soda
- Helps the batter rise and lighten as it bakes.
The step that matters
Scald the Indian meal in water. Hot water hydrates and swells the cornmeal starch, so the batter thickens evenly and the cakes bake up softer instead of gritty or dense.
“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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