A well balanced breakfast is very important. This is not well balanced
If you can’t get sorghum where you are, you can use honey. Or better yet, find a place that ships sorghum.
Johnnycakes
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup buttermilk plus more
- 2 tbsp boiling water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add butter and cut into mixture until it looks like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center, crack egg and beat well. Add one cup buttermilk and boiling water and mix everything together. Add more buttermilk until mixture becomes a thick batter, much like pancake batter. Heat a griddle, add a little oil or butter and spoon out about 1/4 cup of batter to make each cake. Flip when bubbles begin to pop and press down slightly. Serve warm.
Sorghum Butter
- 2 parts butter
- 1 part sorghum
We used two tablespoons of butter and one of sorghum, but if you’re serving more, that might not be enough. Set butter in a bowl to soften while you make the johnnycakes. Once soft whip with the sorghum until blended. Use a hand whisk or handheld blender.
Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide 
These sound yummy — love the nutmeg.
This brings back memories… my pawpaw used to eat sorghum on his biscuits. With a side of buttermilk.
Mmmm those look good! I’ve been wanting to make these lately and I think I might make these for breakfast tomorrow!
First time I’ve heard of Johnny Cakes. Sorghum was introduced to me by you, too. But they look very, very good:)
Nice. “Find a place…” Good call!
Mmm good morning,
So what makes a Johnny cake a “Johnny” and not a pancake? Is it the cornmeal? These sound wonderful – in an unbalanced sort of way! 😉 I guess I really ought to try sorghum too, eh?
Everyone should have a jar of sorghum. The name Johnny Cake is possibly a mispronunciation for Shawnee cake, a basic bread the Shawnee Indians made. Or so the internet told me.
I will take one serving of that, just as shown in the photo. That’s the right amount for me. You realize that I won’t be returning the plate, right? I will call it a souvenir. I like it too much, so I will be keeping it.
thanks!
If I can find sorghum in a regular grocery store up here, it must be poised to go nationwide…Maybe some celebrity chef uses it?
Fall is definitely the time for big breakfasts like this one. Is there enough to share?
I have never even heard of jonny cakes before, but maybe Our John has.. must give them a try, tomorrow is sunday morning after all.. c
They look great! Did you use self-rising flour? Don’t pancakes and johnnycakes need either baking soda or powder to get them to “rise”?
I did not use any rising agent at all except for the buttermilk. These are very dense corn cakes that would work very well as the base for any assortment of toppings and sauces both for a meal or dessert. If you add baking soda (1 tsp should be ample) then the cakes will have the consistency of pancakes or corn bread.
Thanks! I’m going to give these a try.
These sound fantastic! Hope you don’t mind if we share (giving full credit, of course!)! We receive a lot of requests for recipe ideas using sorghum, and this one is definitely a winner. Great blog!
Go for it. We use sorghum all the time!
Excellent. Thanks!
Heeeeeere’s Johnny! Those are some great looking cakes. I need to get some sorghum.
That’s twice now.. I’m definitely going to have to track down this sorghum!!
I just bought some sorghum, so I will have to try that sorghum butter out!
Those look so gooood! I can’t stand syrup touching or getting on my eggs so I’ll need a separate plate please. 🙂
Mmmm! I may have to find some of this sorghum to make butter for one of our French toasts! 🙂
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