Southern Hoe Cakes

(4 servings)

  • 2 cups FINE stone-ground cornmeal
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • cooking spray or butter for the skillet (or bacon fat like old times)
In a large bowl, mix together cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add milk and continue to beat until well blended.

Add the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed and moistened.

Let the batter set for 10 or 15 minutes. This softens the grittiness of the cornmeal. Stir the batter once more.

In a greased skillet over medium-high heat, dollop the batter in 1/4 cup portions to make eack hoe cake.

When the tops are full of air holes and the edges appear dry, flip the hoe cakes and cook the other side to a beautiful golden brown - about 3 or 4 minutes per side.

Serve warm with butter and jam.

* Some modern renditions of this recipe replace 1 cup of cornmeal with 1 cup of all-purpose flour. The result is a smoother - if less authentic - hoe cake, more similar to a standard pancake.

** If you can get self-rising cornmeal, go for it - just omit the baking powder.


An old favorite from the deep South. Back in the day, field workers would actually cook these on a hoe over an open fire. Today, it's easier to use a skillet over a stove. Dependiing on your lifestyle, it's usually untrue that this recipe has anything to do with loose women, aka ho's (no "e").


Mr Breakfast would like to thank Mr Breakfast for this recipe.

Recipe number 1987. Submitted 2/9/2007.