I had a big pack of cornmeal and when I was searching for recipes using it came across Johnny cakes aka hoecake, journey cake, shawnee cakes.
These johnny cakes originate from the native inhabitants of North America. The original johnnycakes were made from yellow or white cornmeal mixed with salt and hot water or milk and sometimes sweetened.
The word hoecake is also used in Southern US states, although this can refer to cornbread fried in a pan.
Modern-day johnnycakes are more like pancakes more specifically cornmeal pancakes which don't require preparing a porridge-like meal and frying it in a thick cast iron pan.
The below is my version of a vegan johnny cake recipe based on this recipe. The original recipe, of course, used all-purpose flour and eggs which I have replaced with whole wheat pastry flour and also made it completely vegan.
I use cornmeal in my waffles recipes to give it a nice crunchy texture but this is the first time I have used it in a pancake recipe and although the pancakes didn't turn out crunchy it had a very good taste and texture.
Recipe
Vegan Johnny Cakes
Ingredients
Dry Mix:
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 and ½ tablespoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Mix:
- 1 and ¼ cups almond milk
- 2 flax eggs (for 2 eggs)
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl stir together the dry mix ingredients, make a well in the center and keep it aside.
- In another medium-sized bowl add the ingredients listed under the "wet mix" one by one and mix well.
- Pour the wet mix into the flour mix and combine together until the flour is all moistened and mixed well. Few lumps are ok. Do not over-mix.
- Set aside the cornmeal pancake batter for at least 5-10 minutes. Add some more milk/water if you think the consistency of the batter is too thick.
- Heat a non-stick pan/griddle. Once it is warm enough add about ⅓rd of a cup of the pancake batter to the pan. I used an ice cream scoop to make these johnnycakes so that it will be all be in the same size.
- You will see air bubbles forming indicating that it is getting cooked. Flip it over and cook it for another minute or so.
- Repeat it for the rest of the batter and serve it warm with maple syrup, coconut whipped cream or cut up fruits/nuts.
My Notes
- Whole wheat pastry flour, cornmeal all absorbs a lot of liquid, so you might have to increase the quantity of water/milk if the pancake batter has a thicker consistency.
Taste & Texture
- This johnnycake feels like you are having an instead cornbread. The texture is different than your usual pancakes but the kids enjoyed it.
Nutrition
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John says
Thank you Madhuram for the recipe. It turned out great. Keep up the good work!
Madhuram says
Thank you for the feedback, John.