Johnny Cakes with Strawberry Maple Topping
Fluffy johnny cakes (cornmeal pancakes) made with cornmeal and buttermilk. A sweet topping of fresh strawberries lightly cooked in maple syrup make this a perfect breakfast treat. If you love cornbread, you'll love these johnny cakes!
Yield: 8 large pancakes
Equipment
- large mixing bowl, skillet, spatula
Materials
For the Strawberry Maple Syrup
- 2¼ cups (10 oz/300 g) strawberries, hulled and sliced
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) maple syrup, plus more for serving
For the Pancakes
- 1 cup (140 g) fine to medium cornmeal
- 1 cup (140 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1⅓ cups (320 ml) buttermilk (or soured milk- see notes)
- 1 large egg
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for cooking
- plain greek or regular yogurt (or whipped cream) for serving (optional)
Instructions
- To a small saucepan, add the maple syrup. Heat over medium heat until gently simmering. Add the sliced strawberries and gently heat berries for 30-60 seconds, stirring occasionally. You do not want to cook them; just heat them a little. Remove from heat and set aside to allow the strawberries to release their juices into the maple syrup.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and melted butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Gently stir with a spoon or rubber spatula just until all the flour is incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Heat a medium to large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add a half teaspoon of butter to the pan. When sizzling, pour ⅓ cup (80 ml) batter onto the pan. Using a spoon, nudge the batter out from the middle to create a large pancake. Drop more batter onto pan, if there is room. Cook pancakes until the edges look dry, puffy and bubbles form on top. Flip and cook for 1-2 minutes more or until middles are done. (Do not overcook, as they can get a little dry when overcooked.) Repeat with remaining batter.
- Serve warm with greek yogurt or whipped cream (if using) and the strawberry maple syrup topping. Serve extra maple syrup on the side, if desired.
Notes
-buttermilk can be substituted with "soured" milk. To 1-1/3 cups (320 ml) milk, add 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice. Stir to combine and set aside for 10 minutes to let it "sour".
-adjust the thickness of the pancake by adding more buttermilk, milk or water to the batter. A thinner batter will create a less fluffy pancake.
-keep pancakes warm in the oven on the lowest temperature. I usually just keep them on a plate on the back of the stove as I make the pancakes. Use two skillets or a large griddle to make cooking quicker.
-johnny cakes can be made to any size desired. Extras freeze well stacked either individually wrapped or with parchment or waxed paper in between each pancake in a freezer bag. Reheat in the microwave, for best results.