pikelets with salted honey butter

a recipe

a pikelet is sort of like a cross between crumpet and a scotch pancake. they’re one of my favourite things to have for breakfast on weekends when i have a little more time to spend in the kitchen. this recipe serves them with salted honey butter, i also love them with the addition of jam and crème fraîche. this recipe makes around 18 pikelets. i like making them in a big batch like this as they freeze well and can be toasted from frozen for nice, easy breakfasts.

ingredients
for the pikelets
375g plain flour
1.5 tsp fast-action dried yeast
1.5 tsp golden caster sugar
1 tsp of fine sea salt
485ml full-fat cow’s milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
for the salted honey butter
75g unsalted butter (softened)
35g honey
a generous pinch of sea salt flakes

method
make the salted honey butter
1. add the butter and salt to a large bowl and beat for 1 minute. next, add the honey and beat for a further 2 minutes. keep scraping down the sides as you go. set aside.
make the pikelets
2. add the flour, yeast, sugar and salt to a large bowl, whisk to combine, make a well in the middle and set aside.
3. heat the milk in pan until it’s warm, but not hot, to the touch. add the vanilla to the milk and stir. pour the warm milk into the dry ingredients and whisk continuously until smooth. scrape the sides of the bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let it sit at room temperature for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the mixture has doubled in size and is covered with bubbles.
4. take a heavy-based frying pan and place it over a low heat, add a knob of butter and let it melt. once the pan has reached a good heat begin adding large spoonfuls of the pikelet batter. aim for pikelets that are around 3-4 inches in diameter. cook the pikelets for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until they’re golden and well-risen. repeat until you’ve used up all of the batter.
5. serve and enjoy whilst they’re still warm with the salted honey butter.

notes
i adapted parts of the pikelet recipe from a recipe by annie rigg. you can make changes to this recipe as well. i’ve made them with different sorts of the flour over the years, wholemeal and buckwheat both work well. some recipes call for the addition of an egg, or use water instead of cow’s milk. i’ve not tried that but think it could work fairly well. i use raw set honey, however runny honey would work too.