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Dessert

Old-fashioned Johnny Cake

A simple Indian meal cake baked or fried from a stiff mixture of milk and Indian meal.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Old-fashioned Johnny Cake

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the batter

  1. In a pan, stir boiling milk into Indian meal to form a stiff mixture.

Bake or griddle

  1. Pour the mixture into baking tins, heaping slightly above the rim.

  2. Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 30 minutes, or cook on a hot griddle on the stove, turning once to prevent burning.

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 and structure of the cake as it sets.
Boiling milk
Hot liquid softens the cornmeal and hydrates it into a stiff, cohesive mixture.

The step that matters

Turning on the griddle. Turning once helps the cake cook through and brown evenly, preventing the outside from burning before the centre sets.

“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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