Hoe Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Scald the Indian meal with the water.
Stir in the salt and melted butter until well mixed.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a well-greased tin.
Bake for 30 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
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 bulk of the batter and gives the cake its body and corn flavor.
- Water
- Hydrates the cornmeal when scalded, softening the starch so the batter holds together.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender crumb while the cake bakes.
The step that matters
Scald the Indian meal with the water. Pouring hot water over cornmeal swells its starch before baking. Scalding gives a softer, more cohesive batter; cold water leaves grainy, crumbly results.
“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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