Pikelets were actually one of the first things I learnt from scratch - and cooking them is one of my strongest early food memories.
Pikelets are kind of an Australian thing. They're little mini pancakes that can be eaten warm or at room temperature and are always a kid favourite.
My pikelet memories all happened at my neighbour, Audrey's, house. Growing up my Nanna lived four hours away, but Audrey was always my stand in Grandma. She was an older lady who lived next door and I remember squeezing through the gaps in the hedges between our houses and hopping the stepping stones to reach her arched front door.
Once I was inside the house, we'd make our way down the hallway and to her kitchen at the back of the house. There, in front of the window overlooking the garden, her electric frying pan would be heating up with butter sizzling away as it melted.
We'd crack the eggs and mix the flour and before I knew it, we were ready to cook.
She'd hand me a spoon and I'd drop lumpy spoonfuls of batter onto the hot frying pan, listening to the batter sizzle as it hit the butter inside.
We'd wait, carefully watching the pikelets as they were cooking and Audrey would flip them over to reveal the golden goodness underneath. One by one the pikelets would be stacked up on a plate, cooling whilst we cooked the rest of the batter.
It probably felt like a lifetime to four year old me, but soon enough they were ready to eat. Spread with butter and jam, Audrey and I sat down to our afternoon tea for two.
I can still hear her voice in my head - slightly husky but with raised notes at the end of each sentence. I can see her round glasses and her curly silver hair and I can still remember the pikelets on her florallychina plates.A food memory that's lasted 20 years and one that I hope I'll be able to recreate with my kids (or neighbours!) one day in the future.
These pikelets are a little bit differently to Audrey's. They're gluten free, egg free, dairy free and vegan - but they're still delicious - and still memory worthy.
So let me share the recipe with you! >>
The Best Vegan Pancakes Recipe
serves one, easily multiplied
gluten free, vegan, sugar free, clean eating recipe, egg free,
dairy free, nut free, low fat, kid friendly, freezer friendly
1/2 cup (60g) gluten free plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk of your choice (we used unsweetened almond milk)
1 tbsp (15g) applesauce
1 tsp maple syrup*
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat a non stickfrying pan over a medium heat whilst you prepare your batter.
- To make your pancake batter, mix all of your ingredients until combined. It will be quite thick and potentially a little lumpy but a few lumps are okay as long as all ingredients are incorporated.
- Once your pan is heated, lightly grease with butter or coconut oil and place heaped tablespoons of your pikelet mix in the pan.
- Carefully spread the batter out to form circular pikelets (or whatever shape you fancy) and cook for 1-2 minutes or until your pikelets are golden on the bottom.
- Flip and cook until golden on the other side, making sure your pikelets are cooked through. If your pikelets are browning too quickly, turn down the heat.
- Repeat until all of your pikelet batter is used up and enjoy warm or allow to cool before storing in an airtight container in the fridge.
- These pikelets will keep for 2-3 days in a container in the refridgerator and can be served however you fancy. Try them with butter and maple syrup, whipped cream and jam, peanut butter, nutella, fresh fruit or whatever you feel like!
*If you want sweeter pikelets, use more maple syrup - or you can switch this for coconut sugar or white sugar and increase as desired.
But tell me, what are some of your earliest food memories?
Did you have an cooking role model as a child?
When I was little, I thought Audrey was wonderful for letting her cook with me - but I also had a bunch of other cooking role models. A family friend, Fay, made the best banana cake in the world (which I recreated here) and my Mum was the most incredible cake decorator (or so I thought - I had just about every Women's Weekly Cake imaginable) even though she wasn't a baker!
FAQs
If you overbeat the batter, you can release more glutenin and gliadin protein that will make the pancakes tough and rubbery. So, sift your flour and dry ingredients together before adding the wet ingredients, and mix your batter lightly.
Why aren t my pikelets fluffy? ›
The trick is self-raising flour AND baking powder, and to flip them before the bubbles that are appearing get too numerous. If you wait until bubbles appear and then burst, you're not creating the biggest air pockets you can. So as soon as the bubbles appear and the sides look reasonably stable, flip 'em.
Why do my vegan pancakes fall apart? ›
Over-mixing, not resting the batter, cooking too quickly, not making the pancake batter thick enough and not using a good recipe could all be reasons your vegan pancakes come out gummy. To avoid it happening again follow all of the tips in this post and give one of my vegan pancake recipes a try.
Why are my gluten free pancakes chewy? ›
This gluten-free pancake recipe will turn out chewy if the egg whites have not whipped long enough or the batter was overmixed. Since the pancakes rely on the egg whites for their light and fluffy texture it is important to carefully fold the egg whites into the gluten-free pancake batter.
What is the difference between pikelets and pancakes? ›
While pancakes and pikelets are pan-fried batter-based treats, they have some differences. Pikelets and pancakes differ in ingredients—pancakes use eggs and fat, while pikelets are simpler with self-raising flour and milk. Texture-wise, pancakes are fluffier, larger, and round, while pikelets are smaller and thinner.
What happens if you add an extra egg to pancake mix? ›
Eggs also give the batter additional, richer flavor from the yolk fat. If you add too many eggs, you'll have “pancakes” that look more like custard or crepes. When you don't add enough eggs, the cakes will be drier and tougher.
What are pikelets called in America? ›
The term pikelet is used in Australian and New Zealand cuisine for a smaller version, served cold or just warm from the pan, of what in Scotland and North America would be called a pancake and, in England, a Scotch pancake, girdle or griddle cake, or drop scone.
Can you use water instead of milk in pikelets? ›
Lauren Habermehl. If you're out of milk, or need a dairy-free option for making pancakes, you can replace the milk with an equal amount of just about any other liquid. In a pinch, water is the easiest swap, but we find pancakes made with water lack flavor and richness.
Does adding more baking powder make pancakes fluffier? ›
Don't be tempted to add more than the recipe suggests, as too much baking powder will make pancakes taste soapy. Alternatively, you could use self-raising flour, which will add to the amount of raising agent in the recipe and potentially make your pancakes fluffier.
Why do my banana pancakes burn? ›
Avoid High Heat
Mortillaro explains that high heat results in uneven cooking as it burns the outside while leaving the inside batter raw. "This is because the high heat does not allow enough time for the heat from the pan and oil to penetrate to the center of the pancake," she says.
Why are my almond flour pancakes falling apart? Since almond flour is gluten-free, the pancake batter needs to have enough eggs in it to help the almond flour bind together.
Are most pancake mixes vegan? ›
Many pre-made pancake mixes can contain powdered milk or buttermilk. However, several popular store brands mixes contain only plant-based ingredients. Mixes specifically marked as vegan are also available. All dry pancake mixes require either water or milk; vegans can always opt for a dairy-free choice.
What are IHOP gluten-free pancakes made of? ›
Gluten-friendly pancakes and waffles are made with the same rice- flour-based batter while gluten-friendly Ultimate Steakburgers include a bun made with a blend of rice flour, milk, egg whites, a touch of honey for sweetness and other gluten-friendly ingredients.
What is the secret of fluffy pancakes? ›
The secret is in the egg whites!
To give your pancakes that fluffy text, beat only the egg whites for 3 minutes on medium speed. They'll start turning creamy, which means it's time to add them to the pancake mixture. Use a wooden spatula to incorporate everything. There you have it!
Is there gluten-free Bisquick? ›
Bisquick™ Gluten Free Pancake & Baking Mix.
Why are my pancakes dense and rubbery? ›
The number one reason pancake turn out dense or rubbery is… Over beating the batter. Aesthetically, we don't like to see lumps in our pancake batter.
How do you keep pancakes from getting gummy? ›
8) Let pancakes cool on a rack, instead of in a stack.
Spacing them out on a rack, rather than piled on top of each other in a classic stack, provides just enough air circulation to prevent them from sticking together and becoming gummy.
Why are my protein pancakes rubbery? ›
A key mistake when making protein pancakes is using too much protein. If your batter is more than half protein powder, the resulting pancakes tend to be dry, rubbery, and fall apart. To prevent this, reduce the protein powder and increase the flour element of the batter.
Why are my protein pancakes chewy? ›
Sift your flour and fold in to the batter using a metal spoon as a wooden spoon can crush the little air pockets that are responsible for the fluffiest of pancakes. Don't batter your batter! Over whisking will lead to chewy instead of fluffy pancakes.
