Definition

Noun: A type of bread or flatbread made primarily from cornmeal, typically baked in a pan or cooked on a griddle. It is a traditional food in various cuisines, particularly associated with the Southern and Midland regions of the United States.

Usage

The term "corn cake" refers to the specific food item itself. It is a countable noun. - She served hot corn cakes with butter for breakfast. - My grandmother's recipe makes the best corn cakes.

Examples

• For a quick dinner, he made corn cakes and served them with chili.
• The festival featured a stall selling traditional corn cakes.
• These corn cakes are delicious with maple syrup.

Advanced Usage

• "Johnnycake": A specific type of corn cake, often associated with New England and the Atlantic coast.
  • We tried johnnycakes, a Rhode Island specialty, which are a kind of corn cake.
• The term can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any cake-like baked good where cornmeal is the primary flour, though it is distinct from sweet cornbread.

Variants and Related Words

• Cornbread (n): A broader category of bread made with cornmeal, which can be baked in a loaf or skillet. Corn cakes are often a specific, griddle-cooked form of cornbread.
• Hoe cake (n): A type of thin corn cake originally baked on the blade of a hoe over an open fire.
• Corn pone (n): A simple cornbread, often without milk or eggs, sometimes shaped into small oval cakes and baked.

Synonyms

• Johnnycake: (in specific regional contexts)
• Griddle cake: (when referring to the cooking method, though this can also mean pancake)

Related Phrases

• "cake of cornbread": A less common phrasing that can be synonymous with a single, portion-sized corn cake.
  • He ate a small cake of cornbread with his soup.

Noun

1. baked in a pan or on a griddle (southern and midland)