This is Johnny cake:
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It’s like cornbread, but better. It’s one of those long-lost childhood comfort foods that was made often enough to remember, but rare enough to be special. My mom would make it at night, and I remember it hot and dripping with syrup. It was almost a different cake the next day, but still oh so tasty!
I was talking to my Gramma on the phone tonight and stealing chocolate chips out of the pantry when I noticed that we had a lot of cornmeal. Leith is working late, and I was missing dance class anyway so I decided to try my hand at Johnny cake.
Let me tell you this: there are many interpretations of Johnny cake on the internet! It took me a few minutes to find one that seemed right to what I remembered. I whipped it up and wondered aloud to my Gramma why it barely covered the bottom of an 8×8 pan. She went to look for her recipe and left me to talk to my Grampa, who had the ingenious idea of looking on the back of the cornmeal bag! Smart guy that he is, there was a recipe right there and it was quite different from mine. Gramma found hers and it was also quite different and had a couple ingredients that I don’t have on hand.
I took a chance and threw my internet recipe into the oven and the result was pretty good! Not as fluffy as my mom and Gramma’s, but still really good with melted butter and maple syrup – a little crispy, and a bit saltier than I remember but in a good way. It was a little dry, though. The recipe said 30 minutes, and I took it out at 23 minutes. 20 minutes would have been perfect, I think.
Here is the recipe:
Combine Dry ==>
3/4c all purpose flour
1+1/4c cornmeal
1tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
2tbsp sugar
Mix Wet ==>
1/4c melted butter (or shortening, or just oil)
1/4c vinegar
2 eggs, beaten
Combine wet and dry until just moist. Bake in an 8×8 pan for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Serve with melted butter and syrup!! Even better with a glass of whole milk…but make sure you work out the next day!
I’ll try my Gramma’s recipe and the one on the cornmeal bag and let you know which one wins 
Oh so good!