Pikelets! Silver dollar pancakes. Drop scones. Mini hotcakes. Whatever you know these as, these baby fluffy pancakes are absolutely irresistible! Serve for breakfast or afternoon tea with copious amounts of jam and cream.
PIKELETS – an Aussie favourite!
When I first shared this recipe in 2016, I called pikelets an Aussie favourite and expressed pity for anyone who hadn’t discovered their greatness.
Turns out, I was a bit clueless – readers quickly pointed out that pikelets exist all over the world, just under different names: drop scones, Scotch pancakes, silver dollar pancakes, mini hotcakes.
Oops! 😅 Consider me educated!
But, for those of you new to pikelets, they are just mini pancakes. Fun breakfast or anytime snack, and great for taking places (think: office morning tea) – quick to make, easy to transport, reheat perfectly and excellent for gatherings because you can eat them with your hands.
I often think of them as the easier scone!
Ingredients in pikelets
Here’s what you need to make pikelets. The batter is the same as pancakes but pikelets have one big advantage – you can make multiple in the pan at the same time. Anybody else feel performance anxiety flipping pancakes one at a time with a table full of hangry people??
Plain flour / all-purpose flour – can be substituted with self raising flour though it won’t be quite as fluffy, as is the case with anything made with self raising flour vs plain flour + baking powder.
Baking powder – this is what makes the pikelets fluffy. If yours has been hiding unused in the pantry for many months, check it’s still active.
Sugar – I only use a small amount, just 2 tablespoons, because the jam adds sweetness.
Milk – The liquid to thin the batter. Full fat cow milk makes softer pikelets but low fat / no fat or even non-dairy milk works fine too.
Vanilla – For flavour. I use vanilla extract which has more pure vanilla flavour than imitation essence.
Egg – Use a large egg, 50-55g/2oz each, sold in cartons labelled “large eggs” (600 – 660g for a dozen).
How to make pikelets
Here’s how to make pikelets. If you can cook without being interrupted, you’ll have them on the table in 20 minutes flat!
Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, baking powder, pinch of salt).
Add wet – Make a well in the centre. Add the egg, milk and vanilla then whisk until combined and almost lump free. The batter should be fairly thick but pourable, like the consistency of thick honey.
If needed, adjust the consistency with milk (if too thick) or flour (if too thin).
Cook – Melt just 1 teaspoon of butter in a non stick pan over medium high heat (or medium ,if your stove is strong). Then wipe most of it off with a paper towel (too much butter = very splotchy surface, not a big deal, just a visual thing).
Pour about 1 1/2 tbsp batter into the pan and coax it into a circle. An ice cream scoop with a lever will be your friend here.
Bubbles – Cook for 1 1/2 minutes until bubbles rise to the surface and at least 4 of them pop. This indicates the pikelets are ready for flipping. If they are browning too quickly on the underside before there are bubbles on the surface, lower the heat.
PRO TIP: If your batter is on the thick side, the bubbles might not pop. Just take a peek on the underside and if golden, flip!
Flip with a flick of the wrist, with confidence! Then cook the other side for 1 minute or until golden, then remove from the pan.
Pile onto a plate with jam and cream then serve!
Pikelets are so popular in Australia, they are actually sold at supermarkets. It baffles me why anyone would ever buy them! I tried them once out of curiosity and they actually taste artificial. They have a weird fake vanilla-egg flavour.
But putting that, they cost a few dollars for a pack of 6 or so, whereas it would cost maybe $1.50 to make a dozen at home, with the added bonus that they taste so much better. And they are so fast to make, plus easier to handle than pancakes because they’re small so they’re easier to flip without smearing batter everywhere or missing the pan completely (yep, it’s happened!).
So, next time you’re after a quick snack for a hoard of hungry kids or your friends are dropping by unexpectedly, or you’re known as the culinary queen (or king) at work but don’t have the time to make a fresh batch of scones for the fundraiser morning tea on Monday morning, make pikelets! – Nagi x
Pikelets FAQ
I haven’t tried unfortunately. I will come back and update the recipe if I do!
Cooked pikelets will keep 3 days in an airtight container, best to keep in fridge then warm in microwave (goes a long way to freshen them). They can also be frozen for 3 months.
I like serving them warm because they are softer and fluffier. However, they are still great at room temperature which makes them a good option for picnics, bake sales etc.
Anything you put on pancakes you can put on pikelets! Here are some ideas:
Butter
Lemon juice and sugar
Maple syrup
Fruit compotes and sauces
Nutella
Ice cream
Custard or curds (like lemon curd)
Butterscotch sauce / caramel
Watch how to make it
And a fun little outtakes video from this week, when JB made pikelets for the first time – how do you pronounce “pikelets”!?
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Pikelets
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups plain flour / all-purpose flour (Note 1)
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder (check yours is still active)
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 large egg (50-55g / 2 oz in shell)
- 3/4 cup milk (full fat best, but any type even non dairy ok)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional but recommended)
- 2 tsp butter
To Serve
- Strawberry jam
- Whipped cream
Instructions
- Whisk dry – Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl.
- Add wet – Make a well in the centre. Add the egg, milk and vanilla, then whisk until it's almost lump free. The batter should be the consistency like thick honey – looser than tomato sauce, thicker than maple syrup. (Note 2)
- Melt 1 tsp butter in a non-stick pan over medium high heat (or medium, for strong stoves). Then most of the butter off with a paper towel so there are no visible drops of bubbles of butter (Note 3).
- Drop ~2 tbsp batter into the pan and coax into 7.5cm/3" rounds. An ice cream scoop with lever will be your friend here. I cook 4 at a time.
- Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and once 4 or more of these bubbles pop (1 1/2 minutes), this means they are ready to flip. Flip with confidence! Then cook the other side for 1 minute or until golden.
- Keep cooking – Remove onto a plate. Cook the next batch (no need to add extra butter until 3rd batch).
- Serve warm with jam and cream, or butter!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published in June 2016, before I taught myself to make recipe videos. Republished in 2025 with said recipe video, plus sparkling new photos, refreshed chatter and of course a 2025 Life of Dozer update (spoiler: no change, really, just older!).
Life of Dozer
Dozer 2016. 3 years old, from the original pikelets post. Trained not to touch that pikelet until he gets the command:
Dozer 2025, almost 13 years old. Just can’t see the cream as much because his face is whiter!
Hello, just wondering if you can make the batter ahead of time Ngairi?
I read a recipe that said pancake batter can be rested for 1 hour before cooking and another recipe (probably allrecipes) that said you can cook batter overnight and still get fluffy pancakes but I haven’t tried it. Hope that helps 🙂
What utter nonsense. Pikelets existed long before Australia was even colonised. And meat pies.
Work on your reading comprehension skills Rufus, she never implied otherwise.
Even if that’s true, you don’t have to be so rude. I suspect you are not a true Aussie anyway. Great recipe Nagi.
Absolutely beautiful recipe my granddaughters love them and they love Dozer so em i thanks Nagi.
The first batch mystery is finally solved! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Wiping out the butter in the non-stick worked at treat 🙂
Scotland is where many New Zealanders came from according to my mum. Her clan the Dow clan from Scotland moved to New Zealand long ago.
That’s good to know Isobella!! N x
Hi, can you freeze these ?
Yes you can Nicole! N x
I for the life of me can’t make pancakes, gave these picketers a go and fool proof. Amazing, kids gobbled them all up in no time.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a kid who didn’t like a pikelet!! N x
Can one use this Pikelet recipe to make waffles?
Thank you again Nagi for another wonderful recipe. I normally use my late Nanna’s recipe, thought today give yours a try, I would say your both equal. Thanks again.
We call them pancakes and we make them really big and cover them in syrup
We’ve got pancakes here too!! Pikelets are smaller – I think Americans call them Silver Dollar pancakes! N x
Loved the pikelets. Was always intimidated to do any “baking”, but starting small and with this bullet-proof recipe, approach and tips – it was child’s play. Loved the treat and Dozer pics 😎
Took me straight back to childhood again! I love your recipes (well, at least all those I’ve tried so far). X
THANK YOU!!!
I love a good Pikelets and these were great
Found out about these, while following another recipe here. So I had to try them right away, wasnt even done with the Crumpets, that I had started the pikelets 😅
Glad I did, discovered something delicious!
Bisous from Geneva, Switzerland ☺
I only ran across your site today, and I am excited to try many of the recipes. Tomorrow I will try the Butter Chicken recipe, and perhaps a dessert. I am going to my daughter’s for Thanksgiving weekend so hope to try out several recipes while visiting. I live in Canada, Saskatchewan to be exact. ☺️ I will let you know how I make out tomorrow after supper.
Thankyou kindly for adding me to your mailing list looking forward to more of your tasty recipes
You’re so welcome Andrew!! N x
Actually pikelets as shown here are extremely common in England as well, they just have a different name. Usually called mini pancakes or weirdly scotch pancakes and exactly the same as an Australian or NZ pikelet – I say weirdly though because in Scotland, a pikelet is a completely different thing. A pikelet in Scotland is like a mini, flattened crumpet. So pikelets – with a different name, have been in the UK longer than in Australia or NZ, but they are not as popular
Er, EVERYTHING, existed in the UK before it did in Aus!
hi my name is Dalecia an I am 9 years old and I am going to try it at school for my ST(RE)AM that we are bowing is pikelets
My husband and I love the recipe. It came out great and I will make it again.
I love this recipe, thankyou! I doubled the ingredients,which I can use for breakfast for my kids this week before school.