Buttery, Delicate, Pillowy, and Fried to Golden Perfection

The one factor higher than a white Christmas is an island Christmas. I’ve been fortunate sufficient to expertise the latter a number of instances whereas visiting my dad’s hometown, Christiansted, within the US Virgin Islands. Because the capital of St. Croix, the most important island within the USVI, it’s a unbelievable place to spend the vacations—or any time. Throughout Christmas, the streets come alive with artwork festivals, soca bands, and the colourful performances of moko jumbies, who dance on towering six-foot stilts. The very best meals distributors are out on the streets serving all of the island classics: salt fish, guava pies, jerk every part, and my absolute favourite, Johnny muffins.

Pillowy, golden brown Johnny muffins are served recent from the fryer from breakfast till midnight at the entire native eating places on the island. My private favorites come from La Reine Rooster Shack—an unassuming roadside restaurant recognized for making among the finest hen in St. Croix. The odor of hen slow-roasting over coals reaches you lengthy earlier than you stroll to the counter. After I order provisions (aka sides), I by no means skip the Johnny muffins.

What Are Johnny Desserts?

Basic Johnny muffins like the type you may discover within the Caribbean are constructed from white flour and will or might not have a small quantity of cornmeal added to the dough for added taste, texture, and colour (this recipe does). Granulated sugar provides a contact of sweetness, butter retains the inside moist, and baking soda helps the dough rise. After a brief relaxation, the dough is formed into small balls, flattened with a palm or rolling pin, then deep-fried till golden brown. Because the Johnny muffins fry, the gasoline bubbles created by the baking soda develop, creating a lightweight and fluffy texture and pleasantly candy aroma. They’re denser than a beignet and never as candy as a yeasted doughnut, as a substitute splendidly tender with a chewy texture and only a contact of sweetness. It is price noting, they are not meant to be a dessert. You possibly can take pleasure in Johnny muffins any time of day, for breakfast, as a snack for tea time, or as bread for sopping up curry at dinner.

The origin story for Johnny muffins is troublesome to type out, relationship again at the least to colonial instances, although in all probability properly earlier than. In New England at present, and Rhode Island specifically, there is a continued custom of cooking cornmeal-based “Johnny muffins,” which probably have their roots in indigenous American cooking (probably by the Algonquin, Narragansett, or Iroquois tribes). Johnny muffins, and comparable dishes generally known as ashcakes, Shawnee muffins, and hoecakes, are additionally well-liked within the South, opening up the query of the contributions of Black (probably enslaved) Individuals within the evolution and unfold of a lot of these preparations. Whereas I have not discovered concrete proof, it’s believable to think about that these American iterations of the Johnny cake are the precursors to the Johnny muffins discovered within the Caribbean at present. Many questions stay: How did they get to the Caribbean? Who launched white flour into the recipe? When did it turn into a deep-fried dough? The journey of Johnny muffins from a cornmeal batter cooked over a fireplace within the Northeast to a fried dough of largely white flour within the Caribbean is troublesome to doc. Right this moment, although, we are able to safely say you may discover that almost each island within the Caribbean has a baked or fried model of Johnny muffins.

What to Think about When Making Johnny Desserts

For this Johnny cake recipe, I needed to recreate the Johnny muffins I really like a lot at La Reine Rooster Shack and so many different eating places I go to each time I am in St. Croix, particularly since I can not make the journey there yearly. And having an excellent home made recipe has worth all its personal, no matter my journey plans—I can not stress sufficient how a lot better Johnny muffins are after they’re so steaming scorching you may barely maintain them. Sure, you may reheat them in an air-fryer as soon as they cool, and I do, nevertheless it’s simply not the identical as after they’re recent from the fryer.

Use bread flour or an AP flour with the next gluten content material. I’ve made this recipe with all-purpose flour, bread flour, and King Arthur’s AP flour (the next protein all-purpose flour), and I just like the chew that bread flour supplies finest. With that stated, once I made these with the King Arthur AP flour, the outcomes weren’t noticeably totally different from commonplace bread flour, in order that’s an excellent possibility as properly. Both method, be sure you let your dough relaxation earlier than frying so the gluten can chill out. Nobody needs a tricky Johnny cake!

Use the suitable cornmeal. Particularly, a finely floor cornmeal that seamlessly whisks into the flour and would not add graininess to the ultimate product. The cornmeal provides a delicate sweetness (along with the sugar), and helps the Johnny muffins tackle a deeper golden hue as soon as fried. It is solely a small amount, nevertheless it makes a giant distinction when it comes to taste and texture.

Butter makes it higher. Based on my auntie, Johnny muffins have been as soon as made with lard earlier than refrigeration made butter broadly out there. Right this moment you may discover that many individuals within the Caribbean are vegetarians, so it is smart that butter is usually used as a substitute of lard within the dough at present. That trace of buttery taste is a pleasant contact and the fats helps to maintain the inside moist.

Make these by hand or use a mixer. The straightforward dough comes collectively in a single bowl and may simply be made by hand, however once I’m making lots I often use my stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Should you select that route, the dough will come collectively in simply minutes, however you may miss out on the enjoyable of watching a shaggy dough flip supple and clean proper within the palm of your palms.

Johnny muffins pair completely with absolutely anything—oxtail, fish, and even callaloo—however I particularly love consuming them on their very own. With a glass of sorrel or some rum punch in hand, you’ll have every part you want for an actual island Christmas.

Cook dinner Mode
(Preserve display awake)