Name: Hoe Cake
Ingredients: 1 quart Indian meal; ½ pint water; 2 teaspoons salt; 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Hoe Cake

Ingredients

1 quart Indian meal
½ pint water
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

Scald the Indian meal with the water in a pot.
Stir in the salt and melted butter until well combined.

Bake

Pour the mixture into a well-greased baking tin.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 30 minutes.

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: Forms the body of the cake, with starch that thickens and sets as it bakes.
Water: Scalds the cornmeal, softening it and giving the batter moisture.
Butter: Adds fat for a tender crumb and a richer flavour.

“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.