Pikelets with balsamic strawberries

This feeds four or a very greedy two for breakfast or for a Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday) treat.

At home growing up we always referred to these as pikelets. You may know them as drop scones or American-style pancakes too. They fluff up in the pan due to the addition of a leavening agent: not something you’d add to a traditional British pancake or a crepe.

Notes

• Takes 10 minutes to prepare, about 20 minutes to cook
• Makes about 20 small pancakes that are roughly 10-12cm in size (not that I actually measure them!)
• If you have buttermilk in your fridge, replace it for half of the milk for even richer pancakes
• To add even more fruit, throw in a handful of sultanas or some chopped bananas or apple slices into the batter before frying
• Don’t be gentle when flipping over the pancakes, or wait too long to turn them. They need to ‘splat’ down on the frying pan when they are turned on to their second side, so that the whole of that side is in contact with the heated surface. If you don’t do this or leave the first side cooking too long, the edges start to dry and you’ll get a mound in the middle rather than an even, flat side
• Unlike other flat pancakes and crepes, this batter is best used straight away rahter than having been rested first

Equipment

• Bowls – one large, one small
• Fine sieve
• Small ladle (volume capacity will be around 60 – 75ml, roughly equivalent to five tablespoons)
• Frying pan/skillet
• Flat spatula or fish slice for turning

Ingredients

• Eggs – 3
• Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
• Salt – a pinch
• Plain or Italian Tipo 00 flour – 250 g
• Milk – about 200 ml (you may need a little more depending on your chosen flour)
• Oil spray

To serve:

• Strawberries – a small punnet/about 200 g
• Caster sugar – two tablespoons
• Balsamic vinegar (I’ve used Filippo Berio Gran Cru Balsamic Vinegar here)

Method

1. Crack the eggs into the large bowl
2. Sieve the flour in (to ensure there are no clumps of flour) and then add in the salt and the milk
3. Whisk to combine: you’ll need some elbow grease to ensure there are no lumps of flour
4. You are aiming for the consistency of custard (not too thin, not too thick: it needs to be ladled into circles but keep its shape in the pan)
5. Now add in the baking powder and give a final whisk (as leaveners start working straight away, it’s best to add them in as the very final ingredient or their strength will peter out before frying)
6. Put the frying pan on over a medium heat and spray a little oil into the pan
7. Test the heat is ready by dropping a tiny amount of the batter into the pan – it should brown on the underside in about 30 seconds
8. Take a ladleful of the batter and drop into the pan, smoothing out the batter with the underside of the ladle until it makes a circle, something like about 10 – 12cm across
9. If you have a large enough pan, you can cook two or three at the same time
10. Each pikelet will start to bubble after about 20 seconds. After the batter starts to change colour a little and the edge of the pikelet can be lifted with a spatula without it sticking to the frying pan, it’s ready to flip over. The top of the pikelet at this stage will still be raw, so will spread a little when flipped – this gives it its typical finish
11. After another 20 – 30 seconds, check the pikelet by lifting an edge and checking
12. Flip the pikelet on to a plate, and cover with a clean tea towel while you cook the others
13. You will most likely need to spray a little more oil in the frying pan before each batch of batter
14. Warm some plates for serving
15. When the pikelets are all cooked, roughly chop the strawberries
16. Place the chopped strawberries in a small bowl and sprinkle them with the caster sugar
17. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar over the strawberries (depending on the strength of taste you prefer – start with a small drizzle and taste test)
18. Allow the strawberries to macerate in the balsamic vinegar for two to three minutes, while you portion out the pikelets on to the warmed plates

To serve

1. Pile a few of the pikelets up on each plate and spoon over some of the macerated strawberries, not forgetting a little of the delicious juice that’s gathered in the bottom of the bowl
2. Extra delicious served with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream, mascarpone or clotted cream

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