Also known by different names like journey cakes, cornmeal flatbread, or southern hoe cakes, Johnny cakes are essentially a small round of fried cornbread, perfect for a delicious breakfast or served as a bread option alongside savory dinners. If you’ve ever made pancakes, the cooking process will be familiar, and you’ll love how the cornmeal makes this recipe flavorful, comforting, and filling.
These cakes are believed to have originated from Native Americans either in New England or the American South. The ingredients and cooking process are simple- cornmeal, flour, sugar, milk, water, and eggs whisked together with no special tools, and the batter is fried in round cakes in a cast-iron skillet. The process is easy, and once you taste them, you’ll know why they’ve stood the test of time. For more classic breakfast recipes, check out my homemade cinnamon rolls, easy waffle recipe, or French toast recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Cornmeal – yellow cornmeal gives these cakes a golden hue and corn taste. Fine ground cornmeal will work best for this recipe and lend a creamier texture than other coarser-grind cornmeals sold under the names polenta and grits. Cornmeal varieties like stone-ground corn meal that maintain some of the hulls during processing will have a heartier texture and offer very good flavor.
Milk – I use whole milk in this recipe, but you can also use dairy-free or plant-based milk such as oat milk or almond milk.
Butter – unsalted butter adds a bit of richness to these slightly sweet cakes. Melted butter easily blends when whisked with the other wet ingredients.
Frying Oil – each corn cake is fried in oil to give them a crisp outer layer and pillowy inside. You can use vegetable oil, butter, or bacon fat. Bacon fat or even lard have a more distinct taste, while vegetable oil will have a more neutral flavor.
How to Make Johnny Cakes
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, water, melted butter, and eggs.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil, butter, or bacon fat in a large cast-iron or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, scoop the batter by the 1/4 cupful into the hot skillet, cooking until the edges are golden brown. Flip and continue to cook until golden brown on the other side. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Use a cast iron pan. A cast-iron skillet maintains a consistent cooking temperature and is an excellent pan for frying. When properly seasoned, a cast-iron pan is naturally non-stick, will brown the corn cakes beautifully, and is the type of pan this dish is traditionally cooked in. You can also use a hot griddle if you don’t have a skillet.
- Heat the cooking oil before adding any batter. Hot oil is essential to getting the ideal golden brown, slightly crisp, exterior on these cakes. Once the oil has been added to the pan, heat it until it reaches 325-350 degrees Fahrenheit before adding any batter.
- Reduce the heat if the oil spatters. If the cooking oil is spattering or the cakes are browning very quickly, reduce the cooking heat. As you make subsequent batches, you may find that adjusting the heat is necessary.
- Make the cakes ahead of time. Also known by the name journey cake, these little cornbread cakes store particularly well. This name comes from early American travelers preparing these cakes before a journey to sustain them during their trek, so this is the ideal recipe to make ahead of time. Make these a day ahead to save time on busy mornings or when you are preparing to host a larger group. I do recommend refrigerating them if keeping them for more than a few hours.
- Serve as a side dish with dinner. These pair well with savory entrees such as roast beef, chili, or baked chicken, so don’t be limited to serving them at breakfast. Any time you’d serve cornbread, you can serve these corncakes. Try making them mini-sized using ⅛ cup of batter and serve in a breadbasket.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover Johnny cakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The cakes can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Before freezing, place parchment paper between each cake. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, or until thawed. To reheat, place them in an oven-safe dish and warm them in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, or toast them until crispy.
For breakfast, serve Johnny cakes hot with butter and maple syrup, a drizzle of honey, or spread them with strawberry or fig preserves. Enjoy with freshly brewed coffee, hot tea, or a maple latte. To round out the meal, serve them with breakfast sausage, fried eggs, and sliced fresh fruit. They are also excellent as a savory side dish with dinner, served alongside collard greens, or simply spread a corn cake with butter and enjoy!
Johnny cakes and cornbread differ in both their ingredient proportions and cooking methods. A Johnny cake recipe makes a thinner batter that is fried into rounds, essentially making cornmeal pancakes. Cornbread is made with baking soda or baking powder to give it a bread-like lift and texture and is oven-baked in a baking dish and cut into squares for serving.
If you’ve tried this Johnny Cakes recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Johnny Cakes
Equipment
- Large skillet
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
- 1 cup cornmeal (120g)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk (180mL)
- ¼ cup water (60mL)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted (57g)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil butter, or bacon fat, for frying
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, water, melted butter, and eggs. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil, butter, or bacon fat in a large cast-iron or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, scoop the batter by the 1/4 cupful into the hot skillet, cooking until the edges are golden brown. Flip and continue to cook until golden brown on the other side.
- Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.
Notes
- Use a cast iron pan. A cast-iron skillet maintains a consistent cooking temperature and is an excellent pan for frying. When properly seasoned, a cast-iron pan is naturally non-stick, will brown the corn cakes beautifully, and is the type of pan this dish is traditionally cooked in. You can also use a hot griddle if you don’t have a skillet.
- Heat the cooking oil before adding any batter. Hot oil is essential to getting the ideal golden brown, slightly crisp, exterior on these cakes. Once the oil has been added to the pan, heat it until it reaches 325-350 degrees Fahrenheit before adding any batter.
- Reduce the heat if the oil spatters. If the cooking oil is spattering or the cakes are browning very quickly, reduce the cooking heat. As you make subsequent batches, you may find that adjusting the heat is necessary.
- Make the cakes ahead of time. Also known by the name journey cake, these little cornbread cakes store particularly well. This name comes from early American travelers preparing these cakes before a journey to sustain them during their trek, so this is the ideal recipe to make ahead of time. Make these a day ahead to save time on busy mornings or when you are preparing to host a larger group. I do recommend refrigerating them if keeping them for more than a few hours.
- Serve as a side dish with dinner. These pair well with savory entrees such as roast beef, chili, or baked chicken, so don’t be limited to serving them at breakfast. Any time you’d serve cornbread, you can serve these corncakes. Try making them mini-sized using ⅛ cup of batter and serve in a breadbasket.
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