Hoe Cakes
George Washington, the father of the United States of America, defeated the mightiest army in the world at the time with some ramshackle pioneers and a whole lot of grit. Speaking of grits, Washington had lost all but one of his teeth by the time he was 30 years old. He had some dentures made out of a combination of horse and human teeth, but they were uncomfortable and he preferred a soft food that he could chew with his one good tooth.
We appreciate you sharing our recipes with your friends & family!
This leads us to the ‘hoecake’ – what we would call a cornbread pancake these days – these hoecakes were cooked on sheets of hot iron or on a family’s farming hoe. Metal was a precious commodity at the time, and to have a tool that would both help you plant your food and cook it saved space in small homes, and saved families money. Americans have always had a strong tradition of making do with what we have, and the hoecake is one of the earliest examples of this.
The American North and South have different ways of cooking these hoe cakes; in the South, they’re sometimes called Johnny cakes and use yellow cornmeal. In the North, they’re sometimes called griddle cakes and use white cornmeal. If you scroll to the bottom of this post, you’ll find the recipe for both. To see which Kent likes best, watch the video (you really should watch all the videos, they’re great!).
Traditional Hoecakes
To start, you’ll need to combine the yeast, half of the white cornmeal, salt, and a cup of warm water. Traditionally, families would cover this and set it near the hearth overnight. You can let it rise for four hours or overnight, and it’ll be ready to use for breakfast.
In the morning, add an egg and the remaining cornmeal. Slowly stir in warm water until it feels like a runny pancake batter.
Oil your skillet and use about 1/3 cup of batter per hoecake. Flip after three minutes or after the cake turns golden brown on one side. Serve with butter, molasses, maple syrup, or simple syrup – these would have been the available toppings 250 years ago.
Johnny Cakes
Combine yellow corn meal and self-rising flour. Add three eggs, sugar, buttermilk, and melted butter. Whisk until everything is combined. You want a thick pancake batter here so, add some water if you need to.
Cook these just like the traditional hoecakes, about three minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through.
Fruit Compote
You can use this recipe with any fresh fruit you have, and it will always be a delicious topping for a waffle or a johnny cake. Dice up the fruit, add sugar, rum, and almond extract. Mix well and let sit while you prepare the johnny cakes.
Traditional Hoecake vs. Johnny Cake
We tried both of these, and it seems to us that the traditional hoecakes were fluffier and lighter because they rose overnight with yeast. Flavor wise, we prefers the traditional version. We’d never turn away the Johnny cakes, though, especially If you add the peach compote! You have dessert right there!
As always, Shannon and I thank you for visiting our website and subscribing to our videos. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram! We’ll see you down the Old-Fashioned Hoecake trail!
More Delicious Breakfast Recipes from Kent Rollins
- Breakfast Enchiladas
- Egg in a Hole Breakfast Sandwich
- Mountain Man Breakfast
- Savory Sausage Casserole – Holiday or Camping Breakfast
- Breakfast Tostada
- Breakfast Fatty
Traditional Hoecakes - Cowboy Kent Rollins
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups white cornmeal divided
- ½ ¼ oz package dried yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 ½ cups warm water divided
- 1 large egg beaten
- 6 to 8 tablespoons cooking oil
- Butter molasses or syrup, for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 ¼ cups cornmeal, yeast, salt and 1 cup warm water. Cover with plastic wrap and place on the counter for at least 4 hours, or in the fridge overnight. *If using the fridge method, remove from the fridge and let it set out one hour before cooking.
- To the bowl stir in the remaining 1 ¼ cups cornmeal and egg. Slowly stir in the remaining warm water until it reaches a thick pancake batter consistency.
- Heat about 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil to a large cast iron skillet or griddle, over medium heat. Spoon about ⅓ cup of batter per hoecake onto the skillet. Fry for about 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Serve warm with butter, molasses or syrup.
Johnny Cakes - Cowboy Kent Rollins
Ingredients
Fruit Topping
- 1 peach finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ cup rum or imitation rum flavoring or to taste
- ⅓ cup sugar
Johnny Cake Batter
- 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ⅔ cup warm water
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 6 to 8 tablespoons cooking oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the peach almond extract, rum and sugar. Cover and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, eggs, buttermilk, water and butter.
- Heat about 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil to a large cast iron skillet or griddle, over medium heat. Spoon about ⅓ cup of batter per cake into the skillet. Fry for about 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Serve warm with fruit topping, butter or syrup.