Crispy Homemade Clam Cakes

These homemade clam cakes are light, crisp, stuffed with clams, and never greasy. The perfect clam cake recipe!

Amy Traverso •

For many of us, it just isn’t summer without a batch of clam cakes fresh from the fryer. We love this recipe because it turns out terrifically crisp homemade clam cakes that are fluffy and stuffed with clams, but not greasy. The trick is using mostly baking soda as the leavening, which is activated by the lemon juice in the recipe.

Total Time: 50 minutes

Hands-On Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 30 clam cakes

Ingredients

•           Vegetable oil for frying

•           2 cups chopped clams, with juices

•           1/2 cup milk

•           1 large egg, beaten

•           2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

•           2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

•           1 tablespoon baking soda

•           1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

•           1/4 teaspoon baking powder

•           1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

•           2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil to a depth of 3 inches. Bring oil to 375° (or as close as you can).

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the clams with their juices, milk, egg and butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and pepper. Add the clam mixture to the dry ingredients along with the lemon juice and stir just until combined (do not overmix).

Drop batter into the oil by the heaping tablespoon (we use a medium cookie dough scoop). Work in batches so as not to crowd the pan, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain the temperature.

Fry until clam cakes are nicely browned and cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes total. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm, with lemon wedges on the side.