Johnny Cake from the Bahamas- The Foreign Fork

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Bahamian Johnny Cake is a dense, biscuit-textured bread from The Bahamas made with flour, sugar, milk and baking powder. Johnny Cake is best served warm with jam and butter or for breakfast with slices of cheese.

Slice of Johnny cake on a plate with a pat of butter on top and preserves in a small dish on the side.

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Johnny Cake is a delicious, dense bread found all across the Bahamas and many other countries as well. Though the word “cake” makes it sound sweet, Johnny Bread is more of a giant biscuit. Just like biscuits it’s best served warm and flaky, right out of the oven and smothered in butter or jam.

It’s Bahamian comfort food, sliced in thick wedges and served as a side with almost any meal. On the islands you can find it sold by the loaf in most bakeries or sometimes sold in slices.

One bite and you’ll see why it’s such a popular dish. With simple ingredients, this versatile bread is a must-try.

Recipe Origins

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where Bahamian Johnny Cake first came from, but many trace it back to Native Americans and their recipe for cornbread, or janiken. With an abundance of corn, this easy recipe was adopted by European settlers and spread to other countries during the mid-Atlantic slave trade.

At that time it was called Journey Cake because the ingredients were easy to travel with and it could be cooked over an open fire. The dense cake would keep well for days on long trips.

Over time the recipe spread to many parts of North America as well as Central and South America, the Caribbean islands, Jamaica, Columbia and St. Croix. In most areas, Johnny cakes are small cakes cooked or fried on a griddle.

The Bahamas received the recipe (and ditched the cornmeal) likely around 1780 when the American War for Independence caused American slaveholders in Southern states to flee the country. They came to the Bahamas for their slaves to work cotton plantations and brought the recipe with them.

In the Bahamas the simple cake is baked in the oven and comes out as a dense, thick loaf that is cut into wedges. It’s often served with a few slices of cheese for breakfast or a snack but is versatile enough to be eaten with stew or soup as well.

Why Make this Recipe

“Travel” to the Bahamas: The Bahamas is an absolutely beautiful country to visit. The beaches are beautiful and the food there is just delicious! If you want to visit the Bahamas but aren’t able to, making this recipe at home will give you a feeling that you are there.
Made with Pantry Staples: We all know those days that we want to bake but just don’t want to leave our houses. This recipe is so simple, and can be made with ingredients that you most likely already have in your pantry at home!
Versatile: This recipe is delicious on its own for breakfast or a snack, but it’s also the perfect side dish with soup or stew. You could make one loaf in the morning and enjoy it throughout the day.

What Do I Need to Make this Recipe?

Ingredients

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

Dry Ingredients: This recipe is made with simple pantry staples including granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder.
Butter: I use unsalted butter. Leave it out for a few hours before baking so that it is softened and at room temperature
Milk: I use 2% milk, but you can use whatever you have on hand.

Tools

Cast Iron Skillet: This recipe is traditionally made in a cast-iron skillet, placed in the oven but you can use a round cake pan just as easily.
Electric Mixer: I liked using an electric mixer to get this recipe started but you could mix it by hand.
Wooden Spoon: This dough is very dense. I like using a wooden spoon because it can scrape the bowl and handle the dough without bending.

How to Make this Recipe

Step 1: Make the Dough

Dry ingredients incorporated into the butter for johnny cake.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until combined.

Add the flour, water, salt, and baking powder to the bowl and mix with a hand mixer.

Add the milk slowly until the batter is slightly sticky, mixing by hand with a wooden spoon.

Step 2: Knead the Dough

Johnny cake dough kneaded and placed in a pan.

Dust your hands with flour. Transfer the dough from the bowl to a greased 9×9 pan.

Gently flatten the dough into the pan (you can also use a round pan or a cast iron skillet).

Step 3: Bake

Baked Johnny cake with a couple pats of butter on top and two slices removed.

Bake the cake for approximately 1 hour, or until the edges are browned. It will not rise much.

Let the Johnny Cake cook for several minutes before cutting into it. Enjoy!

Expert Tips

Butter knife on the side of the plate with preserves and a slice of johnny cake with butter on top.

I’ve found that eating Bahamian Johnny Cake at room temperature is not normally conducive to a delicious experience. Instead, heat it up in the microwave. Add a little bit of butter and then jam (Papaya Jam and orange marmalade are my favorite options but guava or mango may be more popular on the islands). You will love how much softer and more delicious your snack gets!
This recipe calls for a circle or square, glass pan. The traditional method is actually to use a cast iron skillet (in the oven). If you have a cast iron skillet at your disposal, this is a great way to cook the recipe.
Bake some coconut into the recipe to add a bit of sweetness

Recipe FAQs

A baked johnny cake cut into triangular slices.

How Should I Store Johnny Cake?

To store the cake, wrap it up in wax paper first. Then, wrap that wax paper in aluminum foil.
You can keep the cake on the counter at room temperature for up to a week. Once the cake begins to harden or turn stale, throw it out.

How Should I Cut the Johnny Cake?

You can cut the cake into wedges and serve them warm!

Some good ways to enjoy Johnny Cake are:
-Warm with butter and jam
-Used to soak up broths or soups at dinner time
-Served with slices of cheddar cheese as a lunchtime snack.

How Is this Recipe Different From Other Johnny Cakes I Have Seen?

The Bahamas is not the only country that is famous for its Johnny Cakes. In fact, many countries have a dish by this name but they are not all made the same.

In the Bahamas, the recipe is cooked either in an oven or on the stove. However, in other countries it can be typical to fry the cakes instead of baking them.

Additionally, Bahamian Johnny Cake is made using all-purpose flour. In other countries, including the United States, Jamaica, Colombia, and more, the recipe features cornmeal as its main ingredient.

This version of the cake is much thicker than the recipes in other countries, such as South and Central America. In those regions, the cakes are cooked on a griddle and are much thinner than the slices you see here.

Did you enjoy this recipe for Johnny Cake from The Bahamas? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:

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Johnny Cake from The Bahamas

Recipe Origins

Why Make this Recipe