The Best Ever Pikelet Recipe

Ingredients

• 1½ cups (375 ml) milk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups (300 g) plain flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 large egg
• 40 g (3 tbsp) sugar

Instructions

• Heat the milk in a small pot or microwave until warm to the touch (not hot enough to scald) and dissolve the baking soda in the milk. Set aside to cool slightly.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour and cream of tartar. Use a whisk or dough whisk to evenly distribute the cream of tartar through the flour.
• In a separate small bowl, crack the egg and add the sugar. Beat with a fork until combined and slightly frothy.
• Slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture, stirring with a fork until well blended.
• Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Use a spatula or dough whisk to combine until the batter is smooth.
• Allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime, heat a skillet or frypan over a low heat (an electric frypan makes light work of many pikelets if you are cooking for a crowd).
• Grease the hot skillet with a small amount of butter, then wipe away excess.
• Test with one small spoonful of batter. Adjust the heat if needed – it should form bubbles evenly across the surface before flipping.
• Cook three to four pikelets at a time, flipping once bubbles appear, and cook until golden on both sides.
• Place cooked pikelets on a cooling rack to prevent sweating.
• Serve hot or allow to cool completely before adding toppings.
• Enjoy your light and fluffy pikelets – perfect for breakfast or smoko! 

Philippa Cameron is the station cook on her husband’s family farm, Ōtemātātā Station in the Waitaki Valley; and the mother to two beautiful daughters who will be the sixth generation to treasure this sparse and beautiful high-country environment. Alongside cooking and running her successful social media business What’s For Smoko she has published two books, A High Country Life and Winter Warmers.