The story
From hoe + cake, since it was often cooked on a hoe (a type of pan, not the gardening implement).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
hoecake
Today it means: A type of cornbread or cornmeal cake, made with water and salt. It was originally baked before the fire or in the ashes on a type of iron pan called a hoe; in modern times, it is fried in cooking oil in a skillet. Full definition →