Aussie Shearers' Pikelets on the Run

Eating freshly cooked pikelets after school, with butter dripping from them, is a fond childhood memory of mine. I made this batch of pikelets and a batch of my Aussie Damper scones early on the morning of Bee day, the day we extracted our first batch of honey from our bees, (my last story on my blog). I was  thinking that we would all need a good morning tea after the work was done, and I was right. I'm always thinking ahead with food.

The honey hadn't been processed for consumption by morning tea time, so we made do with delicious strawberry jam, a gift from Ingrid's wedding, the second wedding we attended in Brisbane. The jam was made from beautiful strawberries  purchased from the Wellington Point Strawberry Farm, Wellington Point, in the Redlands, just outside Brisbane and was made lovingly by Noela, Mother of the Bride. Then the following evening we celebrated our honey haul with our friends P & J, with these pikelets for dessert, and they were delicious and so was the honey. They are versatile little creations, mini pancakes really,  and so easy to make. They are also a very economical treat made from ingredients in most pantries and can be whipped up in minutes.

Everyone needs a good pikelet recipe in their repertoire, a quick solution to the question often asked,
"What can I make for morning tea" ? This recipe is a goodie, however I think it is important to buy good quality Self Raising Flour such as White Wings, or make your own by mixing 2 teaspoons of Baking Powder to 1 cup of Plain flour and sifting it well. The pikelets need to rise and this magic happens after they are flipped over the first time. I found this recipe in the September edition of the Australian Women's Weekly and their recipes are to be trusted. They called them Shearers' pikelets which appealed to my rustic Aussie side so that is what I have called these, although I was tempted to call them Beekeepers' pikelets as that is what we are.

A fresh batch of Pikelets

I may have mentioned before that my son and his family including our little grandchildren are living in the Falkland Islands for three years, so I am learning to be a Grandmother from a distance.  He is the Agronomist over there and as part of his work day he sometimes finds himself in a shearing shed, so I hope someone provides a nice morning tea like hot pikelets for them all sometimes. I thought of him when I was making these. The shearing sheds over there are a lot colder than the ones here though.

Let's cook:

Ingredients:

Makes 28 pikelets

2 cups (300g) self-raising flour
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
20g butter, melted
butter, to serve





Method:

Sift the SR flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Add the sugar and salt.

 Whisk the egg, milk and vinegar in a small bowl. Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix well. Set the batter aside for 30 minutes.

Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat and lightly grease with the melted butter.

Drop dessertspoons of the batter into the pan. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and the base is golden. Turn and cook on the other side until golden.

Spread the pikelets with butter while hot, or serve with strawberry jam and cream for a
Devonshire tea with or without scones.

Below is a batch of Aussie Damper Scones just out of the oven.



Have you ever eaten pikelets before and do you prefer them just with butter or with jam and cream as well? Either way they are delicious.

Warm wishes

Pauline