Original Salt Savoury Pikelets with Whipped Cheddar Butter

Difficulty: Easy | Prep: 10 min | Cook: 15 min | Total: 25 min | Serves: 4 | Dietary: Vegetarian

Pikelets are usually a jam and cream job. Push them savoury with Chooki's Original Chicken Salt in the batter and they turn into the best thing you can hand around on a warm spring afternoon. The whipped cheddar butter melts straight into the warm ones, which is the whole point.

Step 1: Whip the Butter

Beat the softened butter with electric beaters for a minute until it goes pale and fluffy. Add the grated cheddar and the teaspoon of Chooki's Original Chicken Salt and beat another 30 seconds. Scrape it into a small bowl and leave it on the bench. Cold butter will not melt into a warm pikelet, so do not put it back in the fridge.

Step 2: Mix the Batter

Whisk the flour and the other teaspoon of chicken salt in a bowl. Crack in the egg, pour in the milk and the melted butter, and whisk until it is just smooth. Stir through the chives. Let it sit for five minutes. The batter should be thicker than pancake batter, closer to thickened cream.

Step 3: Cook Them

Melt a little butter in a non-stick frypan over medium-low heat. Drop tablespoons of batter into the pan, spaced apart. When bubbles come up through the surface and the edges look set, about 90 seconds, flip them and give the other side a minute. You should get around 16. Keep the heat lower than you think, because the cheese in the butter will not save a scorched pikelet.

Tip: Stack them on a plate under a clean tea towel as they come out of the pan. The trapped steam keeps them soft and they stay warm long enough to get through the lot.