Banana pikelets

I find it extra hard to get inspiration for breakfast. My biggest hurdle is not being a morning person. Even if I’ve been up for quite a while before Nicholas wakes up, I don’t have the same enthusiasm for making him something different for breakfast. He’s also more fussy at breakfast.

Pikelets are little thick pancakes. They’re also called drop (or dropped) scones because of how the batter is dropped from a spoon into the pan to make them. They’re a perfect size for little hands to eat on their own.

I loved making them as a child and have vivid memories of impatiently waiting for the bubbles to appear so I could flip them over. They’re easy and very satisfying for kids to make.

I replaced the sugar in my favourite pikelet recipe with some honey, and added mashed banana and cinnamon. Even with the fruit, they’re not very sweet (if you want them sweeter add some more honey or use 1/4 cup of sugar). I also added some bicarbonate of soda to give some extra fluffiness, but they’re still good without it. After they’re cooked, they’ll still be a bit soft and gooey inside from the banana.

Freeze the ones you don’t eat immediately and have them as a snack another day.

BANANA PIKELETS

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Makes about 20
Freezable

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 bananas, mashed
1 tbsp honey
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
small piece of butter, melted, to grease the pan

Sift flour, bicarbonate and cinnamon into a medium-sized bowl. Add banana, honey and egg, and mix to combine. Add milk gradually until you have a fairly thick batter (you might not need to add all the milk).

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and brush with melted butter. Use a tablespoon to drop the mixture into the pan. Cook in batches, turning when bubbles appear on the surface (1-2 mins). Cook the other side until golden brown (about 1 min). Lift out and cover with a clean tea towel to keep warm.

Variations:

• add some vanilla essence for extra sweetness
• leave out the banana and serve with fruit
• try adding other fruit (grated apple, mashed strawberries, whole blueberries, sultanas or raisins)

Other uses:

• top with jam and cream (or Nutella!) for afternoon tea

Tip: Wipe your pan clean with a piece of paper towel after each batch and then brush with some more melted butter.