Long before pancake houses, boxed baking mixes and weekend brunch menus, American cooks were already turning cornmeal, flour, milk, butter, salt, sugar and a little heat into foods that could feed a household, a farm crew or a traveler heading down a rough colonial road.
Three foods especially tell that story: johnny cakes, hot cakes and cross buns.
They did not all begin in the same place or belong to exactly the same culinary tradition. Johnny cakes have deep Indigenous roots and became part of colonial American foodways. “Hot cakes” was a broad description applied to various griddle cakes and pancakes. Hot cross buns, meanwhile, came from British Christian food traditions and crossed the Atlantic with immigrants and cooks.
What they share is something very American: taking whatever ingredients were available and making something satisfying over a hot pan or hearth.
The recipes below are historical-inspired versions rather than claims that every colonial household used exactly these measurements. Eighteenth-century cooks commonly worked by handfuls, spoonfuls, experience and texture rather than standardized measuring cups. Colonial Williamsburg notes that its historic-foodways program similarly translates period descriptions into modern kitchen measurements for today’s cooks. (Colonial Williamsburg)
JOHNNY CAKES: THE LITTLE CORN CAKE WITH A BIG HISTORY
If there is one food that deserves to be called an early American breakfast superstar, it may be the humble johnny cake.
The basic idea is wonderfully simple: ground corn, liquid and salt are transformed into a flat cake and cooked on a hot surface.
The story actually begins before European colonization. Indigenous peoples of North America had long cultivated and processed corn, and European settlers learned important corn-cooking techniques from Native communities. The National Park Service describes johnny cakes or hoe cakes as an eighteenth-century breakfast staple and notes that George Washington served them at Mount Vernon. (National Park Service)
The exact origin of the name remains debated. Possibilities have included a transformation of “journey cake,” “Shawnee cake,” and other regional terms. The National Park Service points out that there are several competing explanations rather than one universally accepted answer. (National Park Service)
The term hoecake has its own interesting history. One explanation connects “hoe” with an old term for a griddle, while another popular tradition says field workers cooked cakes on a farming hoe. Historians caution that the romantic version should not automatically be treated as proven fact. (James Beard Foundation)
A simple colonial-style johnny cake
Makes about 6–8 cakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 1½ cups warm water or milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter, bacon fat or other cooking fat
- Optional: ½ teaspoon sugar
- Butter, honey, molasses or maple syrup for serving
Directions
- Put the cornmeal and salt into a bowl.
- Slowly add the warm water or milk, stirring continuously.
- Allow the mixture to sit for several minutes so the cornmeal absorbs the liquid.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle.
- Add a small amount of butter, lard or bacon fat.
- Spoon portions of batter onto the skillet and flatten them.
- Cook until the bottom becomes browned and crisp.
- Turn and cook the other side.
- Serve immediately.
The National Park Service gives a period-inspired version using cornmeal, milk and flour, while a James Beard Foundation recipe uses stone-ground white cornmeal, milk, water, salt and a small amount of sugar and baking powder. (National Park Service)
The Washington Crossing Historic Park also presents a colonial johnnycake recipe using cornmeal, water, milk, butter, salt and sugar. (Washington Crossing Park)
That tells us something important about historic recipes: there wasn’t necessarily one official johnny cake. Regional cooks changed the recipe according to the corn, flour, milk, fat and sweeteners available.
And that is precisely why the food survived.
WHY CORN WAS SO IMPORTANT
Corn was more than another ingredient in early America.
It was practical.
Wheat could be difficult to produce in some regions, while corn adapted well to American growing conditions. Cornmeal could be ground, stored and transformed into mush, bread, cakes and other dishes.
The Library of Congress describes Amelia Simmons’s 1796 American Cookery as the first known cookbook authored by an American and printed in the United States. It included recipes using American ingredients such as cornmeal, including “Johny Cake” and “Indian Slapjack.” (The Library of Congress)
That cookbook is particularly fascinating because it shows an emerging American culinary identity.
European cooking traditions were still heavily influential, but American cooks were increasingly using ingredients that grew naturally in North America.
The result was a cuisine that was neither completely European nor completely new.
It was a mixture.
And the johnny cake was one of its simplest expressions.
HOT CAKES: THE COLONIAL RELATIVE OF TODAY’S PANCAKE
Today, someone ordering “hot cakes” probably imagines a stack of fluffy pancakes.
The colonial-era version could be considerably different.
The phrase hot cake was not necessarily the name of one standardized recipe. It could describe a cake cooked and served hot from a griddle or pan. Early American cooks made a variety of batter cakes using cornmeal, wheat flour, milk, eggs and whatever sweeteners or flavorings they had.
Some were thin and dense. Others were closer to what we recognize as pancakes.
The transition from simple unleavened corn cakes toward lighter cakes was helped by ingredients such as pearlash and other chemical leaveners. Amelia Simmons’s 1796 cookbook is particularly significant because it contains early American uses of pearlash as a chemical leavening agent. (Wikipedia)
That was an important culinary development.
A cook no longer had to rely exclusively on beaten eggs, fermented batter or naturally occurring fermentation to produce a lighter baked or griddled food.
Colonial-style hot cakes
Makes approximately 8 cakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon sugar or molasses
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1¼ cups milk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- Additional butter or cooking fat for the skillet
Directions
- Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder.
- In another bowl, whisk together milk, egg and melted butter.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
- Stir just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium heat.
- Grease lightly.
- Drop batter onto the hot surface.
- Cook until bubbles appear and the edges begin to firm.
- Turn and brown the second side.
- Serve immediately.
These are intentionally somewhere between a modern pancake and an old-fashioned cornmeal griddle cake.
Try them with butter and honey, molasses, maple syrup, apple butter or fresh fruit.
For an even more historically rustic version, leave out the baking powder and make the cakes thinner and denser.
WHAT DID A COLONIAL BREAKFAST ACTUALLY TASTE LIKE?
It probably wasn’t the sugar-heavy breakfast many Americans know today.
Sweeteners were valuable, and the amount available depended heavily upon household wealth and location.
Honey could be available locally. Molasses was an important imported sweetener. Maple sugar and syrup were particularly important in regions where maple trees could be tapped.
Butter was another prized ingredient.
And bacon fat, lard and other rendered fats were extremely useful for frying.
Imagine a colonial kitchen early in the morning.
A fire has been burning since before sunrise.
A cast-iron pan is heating.
Cornmeal is being mixed with water or milk.
Someone is rendering or using stored cooking fat.
The first cake hits the pan.
Suddenly the kitchen changes.
There is the smell of toasted corn.
Then browned butter.
Then smoke from the hearth.
Then the aroma of warm bread.
It is a very different breakfast experience from opening a package of frozen pancakes.
CROSS BUNS: THE SWEETEST OF THE THREE
Johnny cakes were closely connected with corn and American foodways.
Cross buns tell a different story.
Hot cross buns are a British tradition, associated particularly with Good Friday and Easter. The Library of Congress notes that the familiar “One a penny, two a penny, hot-cross buns” rhyme reflects the tradition of street vendors selling the buns in Britain. (The Library of Congress)
The tradition crossed the Atlantic along with British culture and cooking practices.
Cross buns were made from a richer dough than johnny cakes. Flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, eggs, dried fruit and spices could all enter the recipe.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and other imported spices gave them an aroma that would have been quite distinctive in an eighteenth-century kitchen.
Dried currants and raisins were especially useful because they could be stored and incorporated into festive baking.
The cross itself was both decorative and religious.
George Washington’s Mount Vernon preserves a recipe for Worster House Hot Cross Buns, a later historic recipe that demonstrates the tradition’s connection with American food culture. Its version produces a yeasted bun and finishes the cross with frosting. (George Washington’s Mount Vernon)
Colonial-inspired cross buns
Makes approximately 12 buns
Ingredients
- 3½ cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup warm milk
- ¼ cup softened butter
- 1 egg
- ½ cup raisins or currants
- 1 tablespoon honey or molasses
For the crosses
- ½ cup flour
- 3–4 tablespoons water
Directions
- Combine the flour, sugar, yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Add warm milk, butter, egg and honey or molasses.
- Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Knead until reasonably smooth.
- Work in the raisins or currants.
- Cover and allow the dough to rise until approximately doubled.
- Divide into 12 pieces.
- Shape into round buns.
- Place on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Let them rise again.
- Mix the flour and water into a soft paste.
- Pipe or carefully place a cross on each bun.
- Bake at approximately 375°F until golden brown.
Modern historic recipes vary considerably. The Library of Congress recipe uses dried fruit, spices, yeast and a flour-and-water paste for the crosses, while the Mount Vernon version uses a finished frosting cross. (The Library of Congress)
THE SPICE CABINET WAS THE COLONIAL MAGIC BOX
Cross buns demonstrate another important part of colonial food history: spices were a connection to the wider world.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and other spices traveled enormous distances before reaching American kitchens.
A cook could take an ordinary yeast dough and transform its character with a tiny quantity of spice.
Suddenly it smelled exotic.
That smell mattered.
Food was not simply about calories. It was also about celebration, religion, hospitality and status.
A weekday johnny cake might be plain.
A festive bun could contain sugar, butter, dried fruit and expensive spices.
The difference between the two tells us something about the occasion as much as it tells us about the recipe.
THREE FOODS, THREE DIFFERENT AMERICAN STORIES
Put the three foods side by side and an interesting picture emerges.
Johnny cakes
Main ingredient: Cornmeal
Cooking: Griddle, skillet or hearth
Character: Dense, crisp, earthy and filling
Roots: Indigenous American foodways adopted and adapted by colonists
Typical accompaniments: Butter, honey, molasses or syrup
Hot cakes
Main ingredients: Flour and/or cornmeal
Cooking: Griddle or skillet
Character: Lighter and more pancake-like
Roots: European and American griddle-cake traditions
Typical accompaniments: Butter, syrup, honey, fruit
Cross buns
Main ingredients: Wheat flour, yeast, butter, milk, sugar and dried fruit
Cooking: Oven
Character: Sweet, spiced, soft and fruity
Roots: British Easter tradition
Typical occasion: Good Friday/Easter
The fascinating part is that all three could eventually appear in an American kitchen.
THE COLONIAL KITCHEN WAS A PIECE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY
The cooking equipment of the period deserves as much attention as the recipes.
A colonial kitchen could contain iron pots, skillets, griddles, baking ovens, wooden utensils, strainers and other tools. Cooking over an open hearth required constant attention.
Temperature wasn’t controlled by dialing a number on an oven.
The cook judged the fire.
Too hot?
Move the pan.
Too cool?
Add wood.
Flames getting out of control?
Rearrange the fuel.
The cook learned to recognize heat through experience.
This made colonial cooking an intensely practical skill.
A johnny cake could burn quickly if the skillet was too hot.
A cross bun could fail if the dough did not rise.
A hot cake could become tough if it was overmixed or cooked too aggressively.
In other words, the colonial cook was performing a combination of recipe management, heat management and equipment operation.
A BREAKFAST THAT COULD TRAVEL
One of the most useful qualities of johnny cakes was their practicality.
They could be cooked ahead of time and carried.
That made them useful for travelers, workers and people living in rural areas.
The National Park Service specifically notes their association with travel and their usefulness as a portable food. (National Park Service)
That makes the “journey cake” explanation for the name particularly appealing, even though the exact linguistic origin remains disputed.
Imagine an eighteenth-century traveler carrying a few corn cakes wrapped in cloth.
No refrigerator.
No plastic container.
No convenience store.
No fast-food restaurant.
Just food prepared at home that could survive the journey.
That is an excellent example of how historical foods were designed around the realities of everyday life.
WHY THESE OLD RECIPES ARE COMING BACK
There is something surprisingly modern about these foods.
Today’s cooks are increasingly interested in:
- Stone-ground grains
- Cast-iron cooking
- Sourdough and yeast breads
- Regional food
- Indigenous food history
- Farm-to-table ingredients
- Heritage grains
- Historic recipes
- Cooking from scratch
Johnny cakes fit almost perfectly into that movement.
So do old-fashioned hot cakes.
And hot cross buns remain a seasonal favorite.
The difference is that today’s cook can purchase stone-ground cornmeal from a specialty producer, use a temperature-controlled oven and measure ingredients with a digital scale.
The colonial cook had none of those conveniences.
Yet the basic culinary idea remains remarkably similar:
Take grain, add liquid, apply heat and make something delicious.
THE REAL LESSON OF THE COLONIAL BREAKFAST
The story of johnny cakes, hot cakes and cross buns isn’t really about which recipe is “the oldest.”
It is about how food travels.
Corn-based cooking began with Indigenous peoples and became deeply embedded in colonial American foodways.
African cooks profoundly influenced American food culture and developed and preserved numerous corn-based preparations. European settlers brought their own wheat-based breads, cakes and baking traditions.
British religious food traditions brought cross buns across the Atlantic.
Regional ingredients changed recipes.
Economic circumstances changed recipes.
And individual cooks changed recipes.
That is why historical food is rarely as simple as finding one “authentic” recipe.
The same food might have been made differently in Rhode Island, Virginia, Pennsylvania or the Carolinas.
Even two neighboring households could have produced different cakes.
And perhaps that is the most delicious lesson of all.
THE COLONIAL BREAKFAST — RECREATED
For a fun historical breakfast, put all three on the same table:
Johnny cakes: Serve warm with butter and molasses.
Hot cakes: Stack them with butter, honey or maple syrup.
Cross buns: Serve warm with butter, particularly around Easter.
Add coffee or tea for a modern touch, or imagine the aromas of a colonial hearth: wood smoke, toasted corn, browned butter, warm flour, cinnamon and fruit.
The result isn’t necessarily an exact reconstruction of one eighteenth-century breakfast.
It is something arguably more interesting — a culinary time machine assembled from recipes, ingredients and techniques that connect modern Americans with the kitchens of the past.
And the next time someone says, “Let’s have pancakes for breakfast,” there is a good chance the family could be eating a descendant of a food that was already sizzling on an American griddle hundreds of years ago.
Sources: National Park Service historical johnnycake material and period-inspired recipe; Library of Congress material on Amelia Simmons’s American Cookery and hot cross buns; James Beard Foundation johnnycake recipe/history; Washington Crossing Historic Park colonial cooking materials; George Washington’s Mount Vernon historic hot-cross-bun recipe. (National Park Service)
Illustration for the article
