Too-Sour Milk-Griddle Cakes: Did I Do Something Wrong...?

Ever since I read about Edna Lewis's Sour-Milk Griddle Cakes on The Wednesday Chef I've been anxious to make them. Luisa, the blog's author, made them sound irresistible - going so far as to claim that they were her and her honey's new favourite breakfast no less - and her pictures only added to body of convincing evidence that I would soon be blogging similar praises.

But it took me nearly a month to find out this would not be the case as the griddle cake recipe calls for cream of tartar and apparently there's a shortage of the stuff here in London.

For three weeks, I hunted for the slightly obscure cooking acid in every grocery store I entered, but to no avail. (Yet maddeningly, I kept coming across more recipes I wanted to make that required the ingredient, it was beginning to feel like mockery!).

Finally
, the other day I came across the last pot of cream of tartar at the Canary Wharf Waitrose - along with a cute bottle of blackcurrant coulis that I thought would make for an appropriate accompaniment (on sale! a mere 75p! - and people wonder why I proselytize about the store...)

Anyway, so I excitedly dashed home, and woke up earlier than I ever normally would the very next morning just to make these griddle cakes...

And?

Utter disappointment! Was my pan too hot? Was my wheat flour to dense? Did I measure something wrong? (Was I even really working with bona fide cream of tartar? Hmmm....) Not only did they not cook properly... the 'sour' taste boasted about in the recipes' title was more off-putting than something to brag about.

Ah well... You win some you lose some... Even though I'm sure I did something wrong, I won't attempt these griddle cakes again just to find out.



Behold... the lone cake that even slightly resembled Luisa's end-product.

1 comment:

Bailey said...

Hello -
I am a filmmaker in Atlanta. I read your latest blog with the mention of Edna Lewis.

I'm sorry your giddle cakes didn't turn out.

I just wanted to let you know I produced a 21 minute documentary about Miss Edna Lewis and its viewable in its entirety on Internet at a Gourmet Magazine website:

http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/video/2008/01/Edna


and at a Georgia Public Broadcasting website:

http://www.cforty7.com/film/theater?film_test=16

My documentary is called Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie.

My website, http://bbarash.com/bb_friedchicken.htm has more information about the film and the story of Miss Lewis.

Sincerely,
Bailey Barash