Hoe Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
In a bowl, combine cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
Pour boiling water over the mixture, stirring briskly.
Let it stand for a few minutes until the mixture can be handled.
Shape and fry
Shape the mixture into cakes about ½ inch thick using your hands.
Grease a griddle and fry the cakes, cooking one side until halfway done before turning.
Turn the cakes only once.
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 cakes and gives them their corn flavor and grainy texture.
- Boiling water
- Hydrates the cornmeal and gelatinizes its starch so the mixture holds together and can be shaped.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas as it reacts with heat and moisture, helping the cakes rise and lighten slightly.
The step that matters
Turn the cakes only once. Flipping repeatedly interrupts the crust forming on each side, so the cakes brown unevenly and can break apart. Cooking one side to halfway before a single turn lets a firm, browned surface set first.
“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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