I recently returned from England, where I feasted on the most delicious crumpets. They were flat at the bottom and fibrous, chewy and airy from the base up. They were toasted, buttered and served warm with honey, jam or Bovril. I have found a similar product at Pick n Pay (British crumpets) but they're not quite the same. Can you help me out with a recipe? - Belinda van Wyk

A: English crumpets are very different from what South Africans consider crumpets to be. Just as you described, they are round with flat bottoms and are full of air holes. This is because they are made with yeast.

You will need metal cooking rings to make perfect crumpets of a standard size. This simple recipe is from Marcus Wareing's book, Nutmeg & Custard. Serve with his signature honey butter.

CRUMPETS (Makes 6)

• 250ml milk
• 200g cake flour
• 5ml (1 tsp) instant yeast
• 5ml (1 tsp) sugar
• 2,5ml (½ tsp) salt
• Burnt honey butter:
• 75ml (5 tbsp) clear honey
• 125g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2,5ml (½ tsp) sea salt
• 30ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil

Method:

Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to double in volume for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the butter. Place honey in a small saucepan over a moderate to high heat. Allow to bubble until a deep golden colour is reached, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Beat the butter till fluffy and pale, add the salt, then fold in the honey. Put the bowl in the fridge. When the crumpet mixture has doubled in volume, put a large frying pan over a moderate heat. Add 1 tbsp of the vegetable oil and place 3 greased egg rings in the pan. Spoon the crumpet mixture into the rings until two-thirds full. Allow the undersides to cook slowly until the mixture has set and the bubbles on top have burst. Repeat with the remaining oil and crumpet mixture, then serve with the butter.