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Rye Drop Cakes
2/3 cup rye meal 2/3 cup flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons molasses 1/2 cup milk 1 egg Mix and sift dry ingredients; add milk gradually, molasses, and egg well beaten. Cook same as Fried Drop Cakes.
A thick spoon batter fried in deep fat rather than baked — the "drop cake" of the period is closer to a fritter or doughnut hole than to anything from a cake tin. The cross-reference to Fried Drop Cakes carries the whole cooking method, so read that entry first if you have it.
- How they are cookedDropped by spoonfuls into deep fat and fried until browned and cooked through, turning once as they rise. Fat at 365-375F is the working range; below that they absorb grease, above it the molasses in the batter scorches before the centres set.
- Rye meal is not rye flourRye meal is coarsely ground whole rye, gritty between the fingers. Modern dark or pumpernickel rye flour is the nearest common substitute; light rye flour will give a paler, softer cake with less of the characteristic flavour.
- Molasses affects colour, not just tasteTwo tablespoons of molasses means these brown fast and can look done while still raw inside. Break the first one open before committing the rest of the batter.
- Batter consistencyRye batters stiffen as they stand, so judge the consistency just before frying rather than after long standing. It should drop from the spoon in a heavy lump rather than pour.
- Baking powderTwo and a half teaspoons for one and a third cups of dry ingredients is generous by modern standards but correct for a batter that must lift itself in hot fat in under three minutes. Use a double-acting powder and mix only until combined.
- Fat and sizeLard or a neutral oil with a high smoke point, at least three inches deep so the cakes float freely. Tablespoon-sized drops cook in about three minutes; larger ones need lower heat and longer.
- Yield and servingAbout a dozen to fifteen small cakes. Drain on paper, and serve hot with maple syrup, molasses, or a dusting of sugar — they toughen noticeably as they cool.
Rye was an everyday bread grain in northern New England long after wheat flour became cheap, and mixtures of rye meal with wheat flour persisted in New England cookery well into the twentieth century. Molasses is the standard partner: the West Indies trade made it the region's default sweetener. Fried drop cakes of this kind belonged to the era of the deep kettle of lard kept on the back of the range, when a hot batter cake could be produced in minutes without heating an oven, and cookbooks of the period habitually gave one master frying method and then a run of variant batters keyed to it, as here.