The patch between Boxing Day and New Year is something of a culinary no man’s land. A time of making the best of what is left from the feast, a smorgasbord of pig’s ears turned into silk purses and bouts of gentle invention. It is also a time to play. To spend more time than usual in the kitchen, cookbooks out, radio on – making brioche, perhaps, or embarking on a sourdough starter, a chance to master croissants. It is certainly the only time in the year I can devote an entire afternoon to making crumpets.
Well, I say crumpets. I started with a characteristically sloppy, ivory-coloured crumpet batter, but once I had made my mind up to introduce melted cheese and the trimmings from the Christmas ham, they lost their characteristic holes and resembled English muffins. Hmm. We then spent a good five minutes christening these yeast-risen hybrids that were neither crumpets, pikelets nor muffins. Crumpins, perhaps, or maybe pupplets or cruffets. My suggestion of mufflets was, probably wisely, overruled.
The mixture is little more than flour, water, yeast and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda. Unlike most British baked goods, the batter is pourable, rising up the moulds (I used pastry cutters, but you can buy nonstick crumpet rings from cookware shops) and developing bubbles on the surface, which then burst to form tiny holes. This is usually where I stop, slide a palette knife around the edge, wriggle the crumpet out of its ring and reach for the butter.
But rather than play my usual game of how much butter will this thing hold, I dotted crumbled remnants of stilton and shreds of ham on top, letting them melt, then turned them over to sizzle the cheese. The result was really quite wonderful.
A sweet version beckoned. Mincemeat, assuming it could go back to sleep until next year, got another outing on top of the next batch of crumpets. They rose like soft, sweet pillows scented with Christmas. We ate them, warm from the pan, with mugs of tea, quietly rejoicing in the once-a-year Christmas no man’s land.
Ham and stilton crumpets
Leave the batter to rest for a good hour and a half, until it has risen to twice its volume. Oil or butter both the pan and the crumpet rings – even if the ones you are using are nonstick.
Makes 6 crumpets
plain flour 225g
skimmed milk 175ml
water 160ml, warm
salt ½ tsp
yeast 7g, dried, fast-acting
bicarbonate of soda a pinch
stilton or other blue cheese 200g
ham 100g, cooked
butter a little, melted
Pour the milk and water into a small pan and warm to just about blood heat. It shouldn’t be so hot you can’t put your finger in it. Put the flour into a large mixing bowl, stir in the salt, dried yeast and bicarbonate of soda, then pour in the warmed milk and water and mix thoroughly to a thick, sticky batter. Beat for a full minute with a wooden spoon or a flat whisk.
Cover the bowl with a cloth or clingfilm and set aside in a warm place for an hour and a half. The batter will rise to almost double the volume. Crumble the cheese into small pieces and finely chop the ham and set aside.
Warm a heavy-based frying pan or griddle over a moderate heat. Brush the crumpet rings with melted butter and place them on the surface of the pan or griddle. Make sure the heat is on low, then pour a sixth of the batter into each ring. Let it rise and cook for about 10 minutes, occasionally checking each base.
When the top of each one is almost firm to the touch, scatter over the cheese and chopped ham. Continue cooking for a minute or two, then run a knife around the edge of each one to release it from the ring.
Flip the crumpets over briefly so the cheese and ham start to colour a little. As soon as the top is golden brown, lift each from the pan with a palette knife and eat immediately.
Mincemeat crumpets
A little care is needed with these. They will burn if you cook them at too high a temperature because of the sugar in the mincemeat, so keep the heat low to moderate. They also puff up well during cooking, so don’t be too generous filling the rings.
Makes 5-6
the batter as before
mincemeat 6 tbsp
butter 6 small pieces (each about ½ tsp)
crème fraîche to serve
Prepare the batter as before and leave to rest in a warm place. When the batter has doubled in volume, lightly butter then place the crumpet rings in a heavy-based pan or on a flat griddle, as above.
Divide two-thirds of the batter among them. Spoon a tablespoon of mincemeat on top of the batter in each crumpet ring then add the remaining batter to each – a sort of mincemeat sandwich. Keeping the heat low, cook the crumpets for about 10 minutes, till they are golden and lightly crisp on the base. Run a knife around the inside of the rings to separate each crumpet from its ring.
Drop a knob of butter on top of each, then, using a palette knife, turn them over and continue cooking briefly till golden. Remove from the heat and eat straightaway, with a little crème fraîche if you fancy it.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk. Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater
