There's a famous cookbook in New Zealand called the Edmonds Cookery Book. Although it’s mostly referred to as just 'Edmonds'.
It's nothing flash but it’s dependable as heck. Solid, reliable and pretty much every household in New Zealand has one.
First published in 1908, it has sold over 3 million copies with various revised editions since. But the bones of it remains the same. My Mum has about 4 different editions some of which are barely hanging together with tape.
Every time I've lived in a country other than New Zealand I've always taken my copy with me. First to England in 2001, and now to Denmark since 2016. It's a cookery rock for most New Zealanders.
And one of the ‘go-to’ recipes in there is Pikelets. Pikelets look like mini pancakes (but they’re not pancakes….) and are served as either a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. Best served warm with butter and jam on top, they’re also fun to make with kids.
But a few days ago I did a poll on my Instagram account and was reminded just how ‘Kiwi’ these were as over half of you had NEVER tasted one. Oh my Atlanta. We need to change that. So here’s the recipe, go forth and bake like a Kiwi and make yourself a batch of warm pikelets for your mid afternoon snack today (or ‘smoko’ as we like to call it in New Zealand).
NEW ZEALAND PIKELETS (Edmonds recipe)
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk approximately
Instructions
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
In another bowl beat the egg and sugar with a whisk until pale and thick.
Add the egg mixture and the milk (slowly) to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Gently heat a frying pan then put a couple of blobs of butter in the pan. Then drop a large tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the pan. And repeat. I can normally fit about 5 into our regular frypan.
When bubbles start to burst on the top of the pikelets, then its time to turn them over and cook the second side until golden. You can keep adding more blobs of butter as you go (it helps with the browning).
Once cooked on both sides, then place in a clean tea towel to keep them warm while you cook the rest (see first photo above).
Serve them warm with butter and jam spread on top. Enjoy.
Wishing you great baking success and please let us know how it goes!