How To Make Virgin Island Johnny Cakes

The Best Crucian Johnny Cake Recipe – Shhh… It's Top-Cloak-and-dagger!

Johnny Cake!

Few words solicit greater joy and bliss among born and bred Crucians (like me) and those who have been lucky plenty to visit my abode island of St. Croix. These fluffy-fried, golden-sweet, semi-flattened spheres of pure goodness are THE staple snack food back home, plant on every carte du jour at every local restaurant worth annihilation everywhere across the isle.

In fact, if you should ever come across a local restaurant in St. Croix that doesn't serve Virgin Islands johnny cakes, you best make a bee-line for the door. Seriously, a Crucian eating house without Caribbean them is like a ballpark without hotdogs, a burger joint without fries, or a roti shop without doubles or this sweetness stuff…

West Indian johnny cakes are just a must for local Crucian restaurants, period. Finish. Of. Story!

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Naparima Girls' High Schoolhouse Cookbook *BEST PRICE*

The Naparima Girls' Cookbook is the ultimate tome of Caribbean area cooking that deserves a place of honor in Caribbean kitchens everywhere.

So, what'southward and then great virtually Johnny Cakes?

In my extremely biased Crucian opinion—everything!

They're sweet, filling and perfectly fine enjoyed on their ain. I personally used to beloved grabbing them when they were warm, making a minor incision, and slipping a slice of cheddar or saltfish in the heart. Pair 'em up with fried fish, BBQ chicken, souse, lechon, buljol, or whatsoever number of other isle favorites, and you lot have heaven on a plate.

At present, if you've already picked up your copy of The St. Croix Food & Wine Feel Cookbook, featuring the writing of yours truly, and then yous already know that this local delight was originally known as a Journey Block. This proper name derived from the fact that people used to eat them on their way to work.

The name may take morphed into Johnny Block over time, just the tasty treat itself has ever remained the same.

Johhny Cake as we know it in St. Croix is an unleavened fried bread consisting primarily of white flour. Some people besides broil them, but to me, they're just non the aforementioned unless they've been fried

Variations on the snack, often substituting corn meal in place of flour, are found carrying the aforementioned name in as disparate a collection of places as New England, Rhode Island, Commonwealth of australia, and Newfoundland. Although, some other locales have adopted the proper noun hoe cakes… For whatever reason. I'1000 sure their takes on this classic are practiced besides, only nothing volition e'er compare to real Crucian Johnny Cakes for me.

This, of grade, begs the question:

How to make johnny cakes?

If you lot want to brand a batch at home, we take a special treat for you… My friend and fellow St. Croix Country Day School Class of '89 alum, Karen Chancellor, has agreed to share her "elevation cloak-and-dagger" Caribbean Johnny Cake recipe with us!

This is no pocket-size coup, people. Family recipes like this are fiercely guarded in the Caribbean, and from what Karen has told me, this one has been vetted countless times over the years equally function of her own, personal quest for perfection. It's not so much the ingredients that are the secret (they don't change much no affair what recipe you're post-obit) as information technology is the technique and tips born of Karen's relentless drive for perfection.

How important is this recipe to my friend, Karen? Her words:

I value my Virgin Islands Johnny Block recipe more than gold!

Priceless, simply like the flavor of my favorite snack in the whole entire earth.

Thanks Karen!

Tip: Many people reheat theirs in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.  This is okay, only iii minutes in the toaster oven gives them that freshly fried texture.

Johnny Cake! These fluffy-fried, gold-sugariness, semi-flattened spheres of pure goodness are THE staple snack nutrient back abode, plant on every carte du jour at every local restaurant worth anything everywhere beyond the island.

Ingredients

• 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
• ii teaspoons Baking Pulverisation
• 4 tablespoons Sugar
• 2.5 teaspoons Room Temperature Butter
• Water
• Oil for Frying
• Extra Flour

Instructions

1. Mix dry ingredients – flour, baking pulverisation, sugar, and salt – in a large mixing bowl using a large fork.
2. Work in the butter with your fingers. Information technology's like making a pie crust.
3. Add together well-nigh 1 cup of water to your big bowl past stirring it in with a fork. Add together a little more than water, about ¼ cup at a time.
4. Go on stirring until the mixture forms a soft dough.
5. Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough. Knead the dough for a few minutes to let the ingredients to blend and gluten to course. You may take to add together a few sprinkles of flour at a fourth dimension to continue the dough from condign also tacky or pasty. If you under knead the gluten will not take a chance to course a adept dough. If you lot over-knead the dough volition be rubbery.
6. Allow the dough to remainder for xxx minutes.
7. Flour your hands and your counter-top. Brand about 12-fifteen round balls of dough and set them aside.
8. Heat the oil in your frying pan. While the oil is heating, use a rolling pivot to flatten out each ball. Exercise not flatten them too much or they will be like crackers. When a drop of water pops in the pot it is ready for frying.
9. Fry a few at a time in the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pot – that volition make them greasy. When the underside is golden dark-brown, flip information technology over. Do not flip each over more than than once. I use tongs like a preacher uses the Bible. Tongs are bully for frying considering they don't poke the nutrient. Fry each until both sides are gold brown.
10. Drain each on a cooling rack.
11. Savor!

Nutrition Data:

Yield:

thirteen

Serving Size:

i
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 171 Total Fatty: 2g Saturated Fatty: 1g Trans Fatty: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 2mg Sodium: 82mg Carbohydrates: 33g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 4g Protein: 4g

Last updated by Steve Bennett on 04/13/2021.

Source: https://www.uncommoncaribbean.com/st-croix/caribbean-johnny-cake-recipe/

Posted by: holmanarefirle.blogspot.com

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