Crumpet
A crumpet is a cake made from flour and yeast. It is eaten mainly in the United Kingdom, but also in the nations of the Commonwealth. In Scotland, the term is used for a large thin teacake, made from the same ingredients as a "Scotch pancake".
The term dates back to 1694 and may refer to a crumpled or curled-up cake, or have Celtic origins relating to the Breton krampoez meaning a "thin, flat cake" and the Welsh crempog, a type of pancake.
The Crumpet
The crumpet is circular in shape (usually; long and square varieties also exist) and has a distinctive flat top covered in small pores. It has a resilient, slightly spongy texture and a rather bland flavour which, when eaten hot with a topping (usually butter), together make crumpets crisp on the outside and very succulent on the inside. They differ from the English Muffin, which is cooked on both sides, in that the dough is usually more moist to start with, so that a muffin ring may be required to hold the batter's shape.
Crumpets are served hot, usually with butter. Other popular accompaniments include jam, Marmite, honey, or cheese. Typically, several crumpets are bought together and toasted.
A pikelet is similar to a crumpet, but much thinner and sometimes irregularly shaped. (However, the meaning of pikelet varies: in some regions of Britain it traditionally refers to a crumpet, muffin or other teacake. In Australia and New Zealand it refers to a Scotch pancake.)
Delia Smith lists the following ingredients as being sufficient for 16 crumpets:
It is worth noting that the recipe contains no egg, and that most variations contain no sugar.
The crumpet should not be confused with the sweeter English muffin.
The Scottish Crumpet
In Scotland a crumpet is made from the same ingredients as a Scotch pancake, and is about 180 mm (7 inches) diameter and 8 mm (0.3 inches) thick. They are available plain, or as a fruit crumpet with raisins baked in, and are not reheated before serving. The ingredients include a raising agent, usually baking powder, and different proportions of eggs, flour and milk which create a thick batter. Unlike a pancake, they are only cooked on one side, resulting in a smooth darker side where it has been heated by the griddle, and a lighter side with holes where bubbles have risen to the surface during cooking.
This is the normal kind of crumpet in baker's shops, tea rooms and cafés, though the English type of crumpet is often obtainable in supermarkets in addition to the Scottish kind.
Slang term
In the UK, "crumpet" has been used since 1936 as a slang term for a woman regarded as physically attractive.[1] This slang usage also has vulgar applications, as it is sometimes used to describe female genitalia. Historically "Crumpet" has also been used as a non-sexual term of endearment.
Humorist Frank Muir dubbed Joan Bakewell as "the thinking man's crumpet" following her appearances in high-brow television discussion programmes such as BBC2's Late Night Line-Up, and the term has subsequently been used to refer to other women who are intelligent and good looking, particularly if they have a high profile in the broadcast media.[2]