This recipe is a treasured inheritance, as Grandad’s pikelets were simply the best. He insisted that the eggs had to be at room temperature and they must be beaten with the sugar to form a creamy, mousse-like mixture. His favourite way to serve hot pikelets was with butter and strawberry jam.
We sometimes make a double batch on rainy Sunday afternoons and enjoy them covered in butter and a dusting of icing sugar. The rest we pack into lunchboxes on Monday.
Ingredients (makes 20-24)
- 150g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- 60g caster sugar
- 180ml milk
- 30g butter, melted and slightly cooled
- butter, extra, for pan-frying and to serve
- icing sugar, to serve
Method
Place the flour and baking powder in a large bowl and mix with a whisk.
In a small bowl, beat together the egg and sugar with a whisk or electric hand-held beater until the mixture is thick and pale. Add the milk to the cooled butter and mix into the egg mixture. Mix in the flour, a third at a time, using a wooden spoon or whisk, but take care not to over-mix or the pikelets will become rubbery.
Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. When hot, drop a thin slice of butter into the pan and swirl it around to coat the base, letting it turn brown. This is seasoning the pan. As we only want to stop the pikelets from sticking, rather than frying them in fat, take a good wad of paper towel and wipe the excess butter from the pan.
Drop dessertspoons of batter (or tablespoons if you want larger pikelets) around the hot pan and cook for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes or until the base is golden brown and holes appear in the surface. Flip the pikelets over and cook the other side for 1 – 1 1/2 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil and a clean tea towel to insulate. Repeat with the remaining batter, using more butter as required.
Pile the pikelets onto a plate, spread with butter and sift over some icing sugar.