Faye Levy, OUcooking.org Columnist – Food by Faye says:
Here is a recipe for hot cakes from “The Settlement Cookbook,” originally published in 1901. When I was growing up, this was the cookbook that my mother consulted for baking. In our family and in our circle of friends, she was known for her delicious cakes.
Unlike most recipes for pancakes or griddle cakes, this recipe uses three kinds of flour.
Combination Hot Cakes
8 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon shortening
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2½ cups sour milk or buttermilk
- 1 cup wheat flour
- 1 cup barley flour
- 1 cup corn flour
Instructions:
- Cream shortening and sugar
- Add well beaten eggs, salt, and the soda dissolved in the sour milk
- Mix the flours well and stir in gradually to make a smooth batter
- Bake on a hot, greased griddle. (See below).
To Bake Griddle Cakes:
- Heat a griddle or skillet and test temperature by sprinkling with a few drops of water. If water disappears at once, the griddle is too hot. If it flattens out and boils, the griddle is not hot enough. If the drops bounce, the griddle is ready for use.
- Brush lightly with fat, using a pastry brush.
- Pour batter in uniform amounts from a pitcher, or from the tip of a large spoon.
- When cakes are full of bubbles turn with a pancake turner and brown other side.
- Turn only once.
Tamar Ansh, OUcooking.org Columnist – Nutritious and Delicious says:
I’m not sure if this is what your mother used to make as “hot cakes” but they are certainly unleavened and you can cut them in half lengthwise and serve them with whatever you like. (Eggs, tuna, lox and cream cheese…) Best of all, besides being yeast free, they only take minutes to make.
Puffed Matzah Bread Rolls
This is a great, easy alternative bread recipe that literally takes less than 10 minutes from start to in the oven…
Ingredients:
- 2 cups matzah meal
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup hot water
- ½ cup oil
- 4 eggs
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C)
- Combine the matzah meal, salt, and sugar; set aside.
- In the mixing bowl, add the hot water and the oil. Add in the dry ingredients. Start to beat it together, adding the eggs one at a time. It should turn into a thick batter.
- My mother (from whom I learned this recipe) says to let the batter stand for 15 minutes at this point, before forming the rolls. I did it right away, straight from the bowl and it worked just fine.
- Wet your hands slightly and form small, oblong or round rolls. Lay them out on a lined baking tray, with a small amount of space between them. These rolls shape very similarly to regular kneidalach.
- Bake for 50 minutes, until they are slightly cracked and golden brown, top and bottom. Cool on a wire rack.
Norene Gilletz, OUcooking.org Columnist – The Flavor of Memory says:
Hot Cakes Are Pan-Tastic!
Hot cakes, griddle cakes and flapjacks are other names used for American/Canadian breakfast pancakes. They contain eggs, flour, sugar, milk or buttermilk, with baking powder added to make them light. Blintzes and crepes are pancakes which are paper-thin and don’t usually contain leavening; they’re usually wrapped around a sweet or savory filling (e.g., cheese, fruit, veggies, etc).
Pancake batter is either ladled or poured into a hot frying pan or onto a griddle (thus the name griddlecakes) to form a circle about ¼-inch thick. Cook until bubbles show on the topside of the pancakes, then flip them over (so maybe they should be called flip-jacks?) and cook 2 minutes more, until golden.
You can make them in a range of sizes, from miniatures (silver dollar pancakes, about 2 inches in diameter) to man-sized (about the size of a dinner plate)! You can add vanilla extract and cinnamon to the batter or, for variety, add blueberries, strawberries, chopped apples or chocolate chips. Serve with pure maple syrup, pancake syrup or honey. They can be topped with assorted fresh fruits – and perhaps a dollop of whipped cream!
When you make these “pan-tastic” pancakes for your family, they’ll disappear in moments – and thus comes the expression, “selling like hot cakes!”
Norene’s Buttermilk Pancakes
Yield: about fourteen 4-inch pancakes.
Children love it when you “write” their initials with pancake batter! Pour batter into the skillet to form the desired letters of the alphabet.
Ingredients:
- 1¼ cups flour
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- 2 Tablespoon oil or melted butter
Instructions:
- In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine dry ingredients and process for 3 or 4 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and process 6 to 8 seconds, until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl if necessary. Do not overprocess.
- Pour onto hot, lightly greased griddle or skillet and cook until bubbles appear on the top side. Turn pancakes over and brown on the other side.
Serve with maple syrup or honey.
To make chocolate pancakes, prepare batter as directed but add 3 Tablespoons cocoa with dry ingredients. Use 3 Tablespoons sugar and 1-1/3 cups low-fat or regular milk. Serve pancakes with chocolate syrup.
Source: The Food Processor Bible (Whitecap Books)
The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.