Old Fashion Johnny Cake Food

PA'S OLD-FASHIONED JOHNNY CAKE / CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425; grease a 13x9 pan.
• Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl, stir through, make a well in the center.
• In another bowl, add eggs, milk, and oil all at once; blend well.
• Add wet to dry ingredients, stir until moistened (don't over-mix or you'll be sorry!).
• Fold in optional ingredients. Sausage should be in crumbles or bite-size pieces.
• Pour into prepared pan; rap pan on counter-top several times to bounce out the air-bubbles.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes--top will be golden-brown.
• Serve with butter and maple syrup.
• OPTION #1: Add 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese.
• OPTION #2: Add 1/2 - 1 cup of sweet corn (plain kernels); adds a neat "chewy" texture to the 'cake.'
• OPTION #3: Add 6 hard-boiled, chopped eggs.
• OPTION #4: Add 1 pound fried & drained pork sausage (crumbled) or links (bite-size).
• TIME-SAVING HINT: Gather a handful of 1-quart zipper bags, fill with DRY ingredients, and store in your cupboard. At meal-time, add wet ingredients as described.

OLD-FASHIONED JOHNNY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
• Sift cornmeal and flour together and spread thinly on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until lightly brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, combine cornmeal mixture, salt, sugar and baking powder. Pour in shortening and milk; stir to blend.
• In a separate large bowl, beat egg white until stiff. In a third bowl, beat egg yolk then fold into egg white. Gently stir flour mixture into beaten egg. Pour into prepared baking pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until golden brown.

OLD-FASHIONED JOHNNY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400F (not convection bake). Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan and set aside.
• Sift the flour and then measure. Sift together with the baking powder and salt into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix in the brown sugar and cornmeal.
• In a small bowl, beat together the milk, egg, vanilla and melted shortening. (Shortening may solidify a bit, but that's ok). Add this mixture all at once to the flour mixture and mix just until well combined.
• Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden and the edges have pulled away from the sides of the pan.
• Cut into squares and serve hot with maple syrup and butter.

OLD-FASHIONED JOHNNY CAKES

Steps:

• Beat egg, stir in corn meal, salt and milk.
• Drop spoonfuls of batter onto a well-greased, hot griddle.
• Fry until golden brown on each side.

TRADITIONAL JOHNNY CAKES

Steps:

• Combine the cornmeal, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl.Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Gradually pour the cornmeal mixture in a steady stream into the boiling water, whisking constantly. Turn off the heat and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth. Add the butter and whisk until melted and incorporated. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes (this will soften the grains to prevent a gritty texture as well as enable the consistency to thicken). At that point the consistency should resemble that of mashed potatoes. If it's still too runny let it sit a bit longer.
• Heat a cast iron or non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add some butter, oil, or bacon grease to the cast iron pan. If using non-stick still add a little oil/butter.Drop the batter in roughly 1/4 cup scoops onto the frying pan about 3 inches apart. Let the cakes fry undisturbed for several minutes until the edges are browned. This can take anywhere from 6-12 minutes. If you try and flip them too soon they will fall apart in a mushy mess so be patient. Once the edges are browned flip the cakes over and use a spatula to press them down to a thickness of no more than 1/4 inch so they can become nice and crispy. Continue to fry on the other side for several more minutes until the cakes are golden brown and crispy on the outside. Add a little more oil or butter when you flip them over to fry them on the other side.Transfer the cakes to a wire rack placed on baking sheet and put them in a warmed oven to keep warm while you make another batch.
• Serve hot with butter, maple butter, maple syrup, or applesauce.Makes twelve 3-inch Johnny cakes.