One cup of fine white meal; one cup of flour; two cups of boiling water; one tablespoonful of sugar; one teaspoonful of salt and the same of baking powder; two eggs; three cups of milk.
Put meal and salt into a bowl, and scald with the water; when it is cold, stir in the milk; sift flour and baking powder together, and beat in next, then eggs and sugar whipped light together; beat for one minute hard up from the bottom, and bake on a hot griddle.
This recipe for Flapjacks was taken right out of the Ladies' Home Cook Book 1898. Below are notes from our kitchen.
Notes:
The beauty of the Flapjack is in its apperance, texture, and taste. When properly cooked the flapjack will have a beautiful three dimensional marbled appearance. The texture, is soft and smooth, which seems to melt in the mouth. The taste, combined with the texture, is as pleasing an experience as can be imagined for a breakfast food.
The fine white meal is white corn meal.
This is not a pancake. The recipe produces a very thin batter. When a spoonful is placed on the griddle, you immediately hear it sizzle and bubble. Resist the temptation to turn too soon. Carefully observe how it cooks, because it cooks from the outside edges toward the center as evidenced by the sheen of the wet batter being replaced by a more dull appearance. When the center has finally lost its sheen, turn it. Don't add more batter to what you just poured onto the griddle. This builds the center too much and you'll break the flapjack apart more easily while turning because it has not cooked enough. If you want bigger flapjacks just use a bigger spoon or laddle so you only pour once.
Turning at the right time takes practice. Also the temperature of the griddle takes some trial and error. If too cold, it won't cook and it won't have the appearance it needs. If too hot, it will burn before it has time to cook through.