Hoe Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Scald one-third of the cornmeal with hot water.
Add the remaining cornmeal, flour, and salt.
Mix with cold water to achieve a very thick batter.
Cook
Clean and grease a cast-iron skillet or griddle.
Spread the batter in the skillet and smooth the top.
Set the skillet on hot coals and cook until the bottom is brown.
Turn with a knife and brown the other side.
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
- Cornmeal
- Forms the body of the cake, and scalding part of it softens the grains for a tender texture.
- All-purpose flour
- Adds structure so the thick batter holds together while it cooks.
The step that matters
Scalding one-third of the cornmeal with hot water. Hot water gelatinizes the starch in the cornmeal, which softens the grains and helps the cake hold moisture and stay tender rather than dry and crumbly.
“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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