Johnny cakes

“Johnny cakes are a household favourite. They come from the Mission days, when our people were given flour, tea and sugar. Johnny cakes are similar to damper but fried in butter. They can be served with anything – butter, golden syrup or jam. You can even serve them with freshly shucked oysters as a savoury option.”

Johnny cakes Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  3-4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 300 g (2 cups) self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
• 110 g (1 cup) milk powder
• pinch of salt
• 40 g butter
• butter and golden syrup or jam, to serve

Instructions

1. Place the flour and milk powder in bowl and stir to combine.
2. Gradually stir in about 250 ml (1 cup) water until you reach a gooey dough-like consistency. You may not need all the water. Add the salt and mix in well.
3. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and dust with a little extra flour. Pat down the dough to about 2 cm thick, then cut into equal sized pieces about the size of your palm. You can make triangles, rectangles or rounds.
4. Melt the butter in a large heavy based frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the Johnny cakes and cook until light golden brown on both sides and slightly risen.

 

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.