Jennifer Osheroff’s corn cakes.
Courtesy
Let me begin by saying that I am honored to be a fellow contributor to the Nevada Appeal food column. My husband and I recently moved back to Carson City from Denver where he finished up his career in construction and I worked as a cooking instructor and board member for “Slow Food Denver,” a chapter of Slow Food International.
During the 25 years that we lived in Carson I looked forward to the Wednesday paper, enjoying the wisdom and recipes of other foodies and folks in the industry.
It’s an important birthday month in history, not only do we celebrate both President Washington and President Lincoln’s birthdays, I, too, have a birthday this month which usually coincides with the three-day holiday weekend.
With that, I am going to share a few of our favorite foods. I’ll start with a favorite breakfast staple which both presidents enjoyed, “Corn Cakes.” These are also known as “Hoe Cakes,” “Journey Cakes” (easy to travel with) and more commonly known as “Johnny Cakes.”
The name “Hoe Cake” comes from the practice of cooking the batter on the blade of a farming hoe and also from the 17th century term “hoe,” referring to a type of cooking griddle. Corn cakes have roots with Native Americans, African Americans, and European settlers.
These cakes became a staple in the 18th century American south. President Washington enjoyed them for breakfast with butter and honey. “Knob Creek Corn Cakes,” as President Lincoln affectionately called them, were a favorite addition to his meal. He enjoyed them with sorghum syrup or honey.
Traditionally the cakes were made with just cornmeal, hot water, and salt, then fried in fat. I will share with you a recipe that adds a bit more flavor.
Now, to one of my birthday favorites, “Banana Cake.” While I was growing up, my siblings and I were able to choose our “special Birthday dinner,” homemade by Mom. For years I picked the same thing, chicken cacciatore (I’ll save that for another article) and banana cake with buttercream frosting. The recipe I’m sharing comes from the 1973 edition of “The Good Housekeeping Cookbook,” given to me by my grandmother when I got married. A classic and still one of my favorites. Enjoy!
Hoe Cakes (Corn Cakes)
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 ¼ cup buttermilk
Bacon fat or additional butter for frying
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients. Slowly add wet to dry ingredients, mix well and let set for 5 minutes to allow the gluten to absorb more liquid for fluffier cakes. Heat a cast iron or heavy bottom skillet. Put 1 tablespoon fat in pan and pour 1/3 c batter into pan (per cake). Cook until bubbles form then flip.
Banana Cake
2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ½ cups well-mashed ripe bananas (3-4)
½ cup shortening
2 eggs
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. Into large bowl, measure all ingredients; with mixer at low speed, beat until well mixed, constantly scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat at high speed 5 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. Pour batter into pans and bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool layers in pans on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool on racks. Makes 2 layers.
Fill and frost with whipped-cream frosting or vanilla buttercream frosting.
Jennifer Osheroff is a native Nevadan. She worked as sous chef and pastry chef at Adele’s and bakes desserts for Daniel’s Restaurant in Genoa.