Buckwheat Griddle Cakes
By Alison Steele
Last summer, I met Harry and Millie Hornbeck while taking a banjo workshop in Elkins, West Virginia. They tap trees for sap, grow and mill fresh buckwheat and corn flours, and sell them at the local farmers’ market beside the train depot. After talking to them, I couldn’t resist stocking up on all three. Stored in the freezer, these flours keep all winter. With springtime here, and the sugaring season in full swing, griddle cakes, johnny cakes, hoecakes, and all other forms of pancakes take priority on the weekend menu.
All of these cakes use similar ingredients and depending on what grains grew best in your area and how and where you cook them. The old German recipes include a Buckwheat sourdough starter which adds a tad more forethinking, but a heap more of the nutty flavor that makes buckwheat so special. Drizzled with maple syrup and topped with berries, I imagine some version of this dish has been eaten by children in North America for several hundred years.
Each Spring we’d go visiting the sugarhouses in Highland County for The Maple Festival, which is happening as I write! Tapped trees running with sap, sweet water boiling down into thick amber syrup, maple cotton candy and the smell of buckwheat cakes waft for miles. Tonoloway Farms is new to the Maple Festival map with Hickory, Apple Cider, Black Walnut and classic Maple syrups made from sustainable Native Appalachian Forests. A forest farm and research center nestled in the Appalachian Highlands of Virginia, they follow permaculture principles of forest diversity and carbon sequestration while producing high-quality native foods for folks. Their artisan syrups get stashed in my gift drawer.
Come Saturday morning everyone in the house is bored of cereal, yogurt, oats, smoothies, and other get-out-the-door breakfasts. Tiptoeing around sleepy children, and piles of pillows I know that in a matter of minutes, I’ll have a brood of hungry kids on my hands, all of whom have very different ideas of what makes a tasty breakfast. It’s time to pull out the double burner cast iron and cook up some Buckwheat griddle cakes. There are no complaints, ever, when these get passed around. As the kettle gently rolls to a whistle, I whip up this easy and satisfying spring morning meal.
Millie shared her handwritten recipe for the lacy buckwheat cakes she’s been fixing for Harry for the last 40 years. I told her that come spring, when the Sugar Maples start flowing with sweet sap, I’d send her a copy of her recipe in print, and so I shall!
Millie Hornbeck’s Buckwheat Griddle Cakes
¾ c buckwheat flour
¾ c flour
3T sugar
½ t salt
1 t baking soda
3 T butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
2 c buttermilk
Mix dry ingredients. Add melted butter. Beat egg, add milk, and stir. Cook on a hot greased griddle.
I appreciate the artistry and freedom that comes with a seasoned cook and little instruction. Thank you, Millie!
A native of Virginia, Alison Steele lives with her husband, two children, and cat in Boulder Creek where she raises quail, chickens, fruit trees, vegetables, and herbs. Alison plays banjo and sings in Sugar by the Pound.
Photos by Alison Steele
