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corn cake

corn cake

1 2.0
A flat food like a pancake made from cornmeal and cooked on a pan
  • noun
  • /kɔrn keɪk/
  • US
translation icon : torta de maíz
  • Her handmade corn cakes were tender and delicious, perfect for breakfast.
  • eating a corn cake
  • corn cake batter
  • make corn cakes

Examples

  • Kadoh crept closer and timidly handed the man a gourd filled with sotol drink, a handful of flattened corn cakes, and some roasted rabbit.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • We brought some corn cakes for you to enjoy at the picnic.

  • Would you like corn cakes?

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Well, let's try our sweet corn cakes with junk on top.

  • We can make corn cakes if we don't catch fish.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • That evening, the Spaniards distributed a handful of pinole to each prisoner, then sat under the trees and ate strips of dried beef and corn cakes.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • This was the custom: long prayer, then chicken eggs, thick slices of salty pork, corn cakes, watermelon, cold water from the well, then another long prayer.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Ipa would give him corn cakes smeared with the red jam of prickly pear fruit, or beans and wild onions, or whatever special treat she could find.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Eventually, the pioneers encountered the Pueblo Indians, and the second graders cooked corn cakes and studied the customs, unique homes, and community life in a Pueblo village.

    Academic text (1992)
  • One of the best dishes on the menu is an appetizer of airy buttermilk corn cakes topped with shrimp.

Synonyms

cornbread
vscorn cake
  • US
42 2.4

A bread made from cornmeal usually served warm with butter

is specifically a flat cake made in a pan or on a griddle
cornpone
vscorn cake
  • US
1 9.1

A simple cornbread made without milk or eggs and cooked in a pan

is the flat cornmeal cake often made with richer ingredients
johnny cake
vscorn cake
  • US
1 8.0

A flat cornmeal cake cooked like a pancake on a griddle

is usually made in a pan or on a griddle, not only griddled
ash cake
vscorn cake
  • US
1 8.2

A type of cornbread wrapped in leaves and baked in hot ashes

is the flat pan or griddle cake rather than ash baked
corncake
vscorn cake
  • US
3.0

A small flat cake made from ground corn, usually fried or baked and served as a side

is the broader flat cornmeal cake often baked or griddled
journey cake
vscorn cake
  • Archaic
8.0

A thin cornbread cooked like a pancake on a hot pan

is common in Southern and Midland cooking, not regionally New England
Shawnee cake
vscorn cake
  • US
9.9

A flat bread made from cornmeal by the Shawnee people

is the general regional flat cornmeal cake rather than a cultural variant
corn dodger
vscorn cake
  • US
7.9

A small oval cornmeal cake usually baked or fried

is the general flat cornmeal cake rather than small oval pieces
corn dab
vscorn cake
  • US
8.6

A small oval cake made with cornmeal that is fried or baked

is the broader flat cornmeal cake not focused on small oval shape

Surface Forms

corn cake singular
corn cakes plural

Morphology

corn + cake

The meaning—a cake made from corn/maize—is directly and transparently composed from the nouns 'corn' and 'cake', so a learner who knows both words can infer it easily. This is a straightforward, productive noun–noun compound following common cross-linguistic cooking/food-naming patterns, making it readily comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The name corn cake comes from how people long ago cooked cornmeal into a small, flat cake on a hot pan or stone, like a round, golden pancake. That's why today corn cake means a flat, round bread or pancake made from corn meal.