Daddy's Drop Scones (Pikelets)

Pikelets (Drop Scones - Scotch pancakes)

My father was famous in our family for cooking one thing: pikelets. He told us they were called drop scones in Scotland where he grew up and, just occasionally, he’d treat us with a batch of these mini-pancakes. I remember the milk was soured with lemon juice and the batter had to rest for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the batter was dropped into a hot pan and we kids waited in anticipation watching the bubbles slowly form before they were flipped over, then finally out onto a waiting tea towel! We added butter, a sprinkle of sugar and squeeze of lemon juice and popped them into our mouths! After Daddy passed, my sisters and I realised no one had written down the recipe for his drop scones. It was lost for all time – or so we thought! Then, while looking through my Nanna’s old recipe file, I came across a pikelet recipe in her handwriting. The words ‘lemon in milk’ jumped out at me, that was what I remembered most about Daddy’s pikelets, watching the milk curdle. Nanna (my mother’s mother) and Daddy spent a lot of time together in the last years of his life; I don’t know for sure that he passed his drop scone recipe on to her, but I haven’t come across any other pikelet recipe that curdles the milk for the batter so I’m going to believe he did. Cook up a batch of these Scottish drop scones for someone you love soon. See the video below for another deliciously easy Scottish recipe.

Makes 10 pikelets

Ingredients
  • ¾ cup milk (180ml)
  • 3 teaspoons strained lemon juice, plus extra for serving (15ml)
  • 1 cup self-raising flour (150g/5⅓oz)
  • ½ teaspoon bicarb soda
  • 1 tablespoon castor sugar, plus extra for serving
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 25g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing and serving (1oz/5 teaspoons)
Method
  1. Combine milk and lemon juice and set aside for about 30 minutes, until curdled.
  2. Sift flour and bicarb soda into a bowl.
  3. Make a well in the centre and add sugar, then pour in the egg.
  4. Using a wooden spoon, gradually stir in the milk mixture and butter, then beat until smooth.
  5. Cover and set aside for at least an hour (Daddy sometimes refrigerated his overnight; if you do this, return batter to room temperature before cooking).
  6. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and grease with a little butter.
  7. Give the batter a good stir, then drop spoonfuls of it into the pan, leaving room for it to spread out. I use a ¼ cup measure and drop about half of it at a time (1½ tablespoons per pikelet).
  8. Cook in batches just a few at a time, for about 2-3 minutes, until bubbles start to break on the surface, then turn over and cook the other side for a minute or so until golden brown.
  9. Turn out onto a clean tea towel and grease the pan again before adding more batter.
  10. Serve drop scones hot topped with butter, sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Baps (Morning Rolls)

Share page on:

Join Me Soon

What Our Cooks Say

Melisa (Beacon Hill, NSW)
Melisa (Beacon Hill, NSW)
Read More
We made the pot-sticker dumplings and bang bang chicken from the Chinese class the other night. Once again both exceeded our expectations. My husband keeps saying it’s better than going out to restaurants as the recipes and quality are amazing.
Glennis (Caringbah South, NSW)
Glennis (Caringbah South, NSW)
Read More
The whole Be Inspired experience has helped me love cooking again. I was sick of cooking the same old things - meal time is a lot brighter thanks to you Roberta.
Pam (Cammeray, NSW)
Pam (Cammeray, NSW)
Read More
Your recipes are something I always feel confident offering guests and also reasonable in the time to prepare. We often try your recommended wines and suppliers and enjoy your travel tales too!
Jen (Tamarama, NSW)
Jen (Tamarama, NSW)
Read More
Thank you for stocking our pantry with such authentic Ingredients and quality produce. We really like the flexibility of cooking over a couple of days and changing the order we cook the dishes in when we want to. And I love listening to the themed playlist while cooking.
Katrina (Arncliffe, NSW)
Katrina (Arncliffe, NSW)
Read More
I am absolutely loving Be Inspired! There are ingredients I have never worked with before so having the confidence to try something new is so much fun! The recipes are just amazing and the notes on what can be prep’d beforehand are a great help too. Thank you so much.
Deb (Belconnen, ACT)
Deb (Belconnen, ACT)
Read More
Awesome fun traveling through Emilia-Romagna experiencing first hand some of the produce I've worked with over the last couple of years cooking with Roberta's classes – the family are reaping the benefits now.
Judith (Woronora, NSW)
Judith (Woronora, NSW)
Read More
Food, wine and travel! Three of my favourite things! Be Inspired with Roberta has been a wonderful experience and given me more confidence in the kitchen. I have learnt so much, cooked things I never would have attempted without Roberta’s excellent videos, and used ingredients I have never tried before.
Sandra (Garran, ACT)
Sandra (Garran, ACT)
Read More
I'm a competent cook whose learned so much from Roberta's online cooking classes. The recipes are yummy and Roberta’s video guidance offers so many little tips to improve flavour and organise the flow of preparation. I enjoy her warmth, sense of humour, and ability to giggle at herself when she occasionally messes up.
Previous
Next
Subscribe To My Newsletter & Get A Free Online Italian Cooking Class (RRP $39)