Hoe Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Scald the Indian meal in enough water to make a thick batter.
Mix in the butter, baking soda, and coarse sea salt.
Bake
Bake in a buttered pan 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 main structure and body of the cake as its starches set when cooked.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender crumb, and helps keep the cake from sticking.
The step that matters
Scald the Indian meal in enough water to make a thick batter. Hot water swells and gelatinizes the starch in cornmeal, so the batter thickens and holds together. Using enough water to make a thick batter gives a cake that keeps its shape rather than crumbling or spreading.
“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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