Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Cook the Book: George Washington's Favorite Corn Cakes

Posted by Adam Kuban, April 10, 2008 at 4:15 PM

Continuing this week's Cook the Book series, today's highlighted recipe from Crescent Dragonwagon's Cornbread Gospels is for George Washington's Favorite Corn Cakes. How do we know they're Washington's favorite? Dragonwagon cites Nelly Custis, Martha Washington's youngest granddaughter, who gave an account of the first president's morning routine, which included getting up before sunrise, reading and writing until 7 a.m. or so, and then breakfasting on three of these cakes, "swimming in butter and honey."

Win 'The Cornbread Gospels'

As is always the case with our Cook the Books, we're giving away a five copies of this book this week. Enter to win here »

George Washington's Favorite Corn Cakes

- serves 4 -
Adapted from The Cornbread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon.

Ingredients

2 cups stone-ground white cornmeal
1 1/2 to 2 cups lukewarm water
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
Mild vegetable oil, for greasing the griddle
Honey and butter, for serving (optional)

Procedure

1. The evening before, combine 1 cup of the cornmeal, 1 1/2 cups of the lukewarm water, and the yeast in a medium-size nonreactive bowl. Whisk well; the mixture will be thin. Cover bowl tightly; let sit out overnight in a warm place.

2. The next morning, whisk in the remaining 1 cup cornmeal, the salt, and the egg. Re-cover the bowl; let it stand 15 to 20 minutes (allowing the just-added cornmeal to absorb some of the liquid and soften a bit).

3. Check consistency; it should be close to a thin pancake batter, neither nearly liquid nor as thick as heavy cream. If need be, add a little more lukewarm water to achieve this.

4. Start heating a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Moisten a paper towel with vegetable oil. Once skillet is hot, rub its interior quickly but thoroughly with the oiled towel.

5. Stir batter well; using a ladle, pour 3 or 4 thin, 3-inch pancakes onto the hot skillet. Batter will spread out fairly thin; if it doesn't sizzle a little as you pour it, skillet isn't hot enough. If it sizzles a lot, you may need to reduce heat.

6. Watch closely. Almost immediately you'll see little bubbles appear throughout. When top surface is completely dry and edges are curling, flip one cake. It should be golden-brown, nicely mottled, and neither too pale or too dark. Allow 50 to 70 seconds for the first side and 30 to 50 seconds on the second side. Repeat with remaining cakes and batter. (Make sure to stir batter occasionally so it doesn't separate.)

7. Serve with honey and butter, if desired.

Post a Comment Favorite this!  (0)

Tags: baking, breakfast, brunch, corn cakes, Crescent Dragonwagon, pancakes, The Cornbread Gospels