or scroll for handy tips and a little nostalgia.
This Pikelets Recipe is from Nana Ling’s handwritten recipe collection and dates back to around the late 1930s.
It’s no wonder we’re still eating them today. Pikelets are a great all-rounder, perfect as an after-school snack, lunch box treat, quick and easy morning tea or sneaky midnight snack.
They’re also versatile. Eat them plain, with a generous swipe of butter and jam or drizzled with honey.
Who doesn’t love pikelets?
Pikelets: a little history
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says “pikelet” comes from a Welsh word and describes a “small round thick pancake baked on a griddle and traditionally served on Christmas day in Great Britain.”
My first memory of these small round treats is taking one from a huge plate at an end-of-year sports celebration. It was held at a local community hall and I can still see the dusty timber floors and feel the summer humidity.
The pikelets, piled high and smeared with butter, must have been great because more than 30 years later I can still see them sitting there and looking like a good option among all the other plates of home cooked food!
Of course, pikelets were enjoyed way back before my childhood and before Nana Ling recorded her recipe in the late 1930s.
In Australia, one of the early records of a pikelets recipe is from The Dawn in 1892. This publication was a feminist magazine.
Yes, back before the dawn of the 20th century it seems many women were fighting for equality while still running a house, feeding the kids, cooking up pikelets and making life happen.
So long ago, but so familiar!
What’s so special about this old fashioned Pikelet Recipe?
So, what makes this pikelets recipe a little special?
Apart from being more than 80 years old, it uses an ingredient I hadn’t used before in pikelets. Golden Syrup
I was keen to try the recipe and it didn’t disappoint.
The results received a thumbs up all round.
These pikelets are light, fluffy and sweet.
Old Fashioned Pikelet ingredients
To make up this recipe you’ll need:
- egg
- sugar
- milk
- golden syrup
- SR flour
- baking soda
- salt
- melted butter.
How to make pikelets
The instructions for making the batter is below in the recipe care, and is fairly straightforward.
With pikelets, it really is all about the cooking method.
To make lovely pikelets, follow these three golden rules:
1. Grease the pan sparingly.
2. Don’t have the pan too hot.
3. Wait for those bubbles to appear before turning.
Nana Ling’s Old Fashioned Pikelet recipe
Keep scrolling for the tested and tweaked version in the recipe card below the original recipe.
Other snack recipes you might like
If you love pikelets, you might also like:
Pikelets
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 210 ml milk
- 1 teaspoon golden syrup
- 1 1/2 cups SR flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 teaspoons melted butter
Instructions
- Beat eggs, sugar, golden syrup and 1/3 of the milk.
- Add flour, salt and baking powder alternately with the rest of the milk.
- Lastly, add melted butter and stir through.
- Batter should not be too thin, so add more flour if necessary.
- Grease frying pan sparingly and heat – but don't have too hot.
- Spoon tablespoons of batter onto the frying pan. Turn when they begin to bubble and cook on the other side until a light golden colour.
Notes
-
Batter should not be too thin. Add more flour if necessary.
-
Grease frying pan sparingly and heat – but don’t have too hot.
-
Spoon tablespoons of batter onto the frying pan. Turn when they begin to bubble and cook on the other side until a light golden colour.
KLSE Picks
Tuesday 13th of February 2018
thank you for sharing that delicious recipe with us.
Libby
Tuesday 13th of February 2018
You're welcome! ☺