Pikelet/Pancake

I have to confess, it’s noon on Sunday and we are still lounging around the bed reading the papers, only just onto the second coffee of the morning, with hunger pangs finally forcing me to move. My bathroom window looks out onto the neighbour’s (who I’ve never met) back yard, her washing is flapping around on the line already nearly dry from being out for hours, the garden looks freshly weeded and spruce from activity.  I call her the Rupunzel neighbour (only in my head, never out loud, my sanity is daily questioned around the house without that being known) because I’m constantly peering out my window checking out the progress of her tomatoes, envying her lush silverbeet plants, wondering what she must do with the obvious glut of produce, if only I could summon up the courage to yell out over the fence one day…  In the meantime her washing flaps at me accusing me of sloth and laziness for sleeping in and using a dryer for my washing.  In my defence I’m certain she doesn’t work full time, the odd day I’ve been home during working hours she is around, and I guess when you are home all the time weekend sleep ins don’t hold the same value.  I hate working…

For once Mr T and I agreed on pancakes for breakfast.  I love making pancakes they are so quick to put together, cook calmly unlike bacon and eggs which spit, hiss and require short-order organisation and commitment.    Quite a different kind of morning experience more suitable for when the teenagers are around.

The cooking time of pancakes also lends itself to ponder-ation…  I started pondering about pancakes in fact.  When I was young (don’t you love sentences that start with that!) pancakes meant crepes, either filled with jam and cream at the local tea rooms or served with ice cream as a desert in the local hotel restaurant.  It was the emergence of a cafe scene which popularised American style pancakes, which bore some resemblance to an afternoon tea item know here as pikelets.  Confused?  So were a lot of people older than me!

I embraced American pancakes so much that crepes and pikelets were never even thought about anymore, until this year at least.  2008 was the year of griddle cooking diversity in my house!  Two things spurred me onto reclaiming the pikelet – the purchase of the best ever girdle/griddle thingy and my beloved new old Edmonds Classic cookbook.

This particular issue of the cookbook has little stories about the history of their favourite recipes and peoples own stories.  This is the definitive word on Pikelets from Edmonds “To the British, the term ‘pikelet’ indicates a small crumpet made with yeast.  In NZ and Australia, the term has come to mean a small drop scone made without yeast.  The origin seems to be from the Welsh ‘bara pyglyd’ (pronounced puglud), meaning ‘pitchy bread’  These were little dark breads, scones or pancakes made from buckwheat flour and eaten for tea.”

There you have it.  The only thing I know is that the ingredients for pikelets and American pancakes are pretty much the same, but assembled differently, pancakes get to have flavours and additions like chocolate chips, pikelets are generally served cool and pancakes hot.

This mornings pancakes were to be plain templates for Mr T’s and mine different preferences of eating, he likes to spread them with jam and butter whereas I like them to be smothered in maple syrup or lemon curd.

I whipped the egg whites seperately and folded them into the final batter, this gives them a nice souffle height, but to be honest I also think it makes them a bit drier. 

I only did it this way to use my super whipper!  I love this old rotary beater, it is there ready to use without any assemblyand quickly rinses off without any fuss at all.

I’ve had modern hand beaters before and none of them are as good as these old ones, why did they change the design?

Although here is a modern hand whisk I love, it’s my Nigella whisk, so blimmin useful I totally recommend you get one now!

These are some pikelets I made on Monday for supper at my guild meeting

ooh I should have photoshoped the dirty stove out…

These are todays pancakes;

Both different and yet similar…. (ooh that’s deep)

and the finished product ready to nom-ing with lovely sweet toppings…

coffee for me and tea for MrT – how appropriate!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, I’m off to buy some linen, deliver the completed stocking to the grandaughter and then off to knit with the almighty knit rangers.

Not bad for a sloth…

love ya’s