One of the best things about having a blog and sharing recipes with like-minded foodies is receiving all of the wonderful comments and emails from readers all over the world. So many of the emails I have received are so touching with kind compliments, and many with individual recounts of how something I have posted on my blog has triggered memories of an old family favourite or of simply how a recipe has turned out. Whether these messages are just a few words or longer narratives, I enjoy reading them all 
A frequent question which has popped up a few times from my American readers is: what on earth is “cream of tartar” and where can it be purchased in the US? I have to admit that I also searched high and low for cream of tartar whenever I was working in the US and had no luck in finding it. I had a craving for honeycomb one day and as neither Crunchie bars nor Violet Crumbles are available in the US, I was motivated to try and make honeycomb at home using Nigella’s recipe from Nigella Express. Alas, there was no cream of tartar to be found (but a giant Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup ultimately satisfied the sugar craving ).
I guess the difficulty in finding cream of tartar is not just confined to the US but also in a lot of European countries. For example, it is not readily available in Switzerland and Germany, though one can often find it online through local expat businesses.
Cream of tartar is an ingredient found in baking powder; the other main component typically being bicarbonate of soda. According to Stephanie Alexander in The Cook’s Companion, 1 teaspoon of commercial baking powder can be substituted with 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda.
One particular recipe here on my blog which has been quite popular is Stephanie Alexander’s recipe for Pikelets. However, this recipe specifies a combination of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar. Here is an updated recipe with the more easily found baking powder as a substitute.
If you are in the US and can find cream of tartar where you live, please let me know so I can help others to find this ingredient.
And please drop me a line or two when you have a free moment! I would love to hear from you all
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
I live in the Washington, DC area, and I haven’t had any problems finding cream of tartar. It is usually in the spice section, which in my supermarket is alphabetized, so next to chili and cumin!
I enjoy your blog.
Oh it’s in the spice section??? That’s probably why I and a lot of other people haven’t found it because we’re often looking in the baking section amongst the flour and tins of baking powder. But even on those occasions when I’ve asked the supermarket staff, they would tell me that they didn’t sell such thing. Either they themselves didn’t know what cream of tartar was or perhaps it just depends on the area you live in. But I’m happy to hear that cream of tartar can actually be found in the US!
Although I’ve cheekily specified that this recipe is for the Americans, it’s also intended for anyone who can’t find cream of tartar where they live … like me in Switzerland
I think cream of tartar is readily available here in the US. I used to live in Wisconsin, and it was also found in the spice section (it comes in those little spice jars that cinnamon, allspice, etc come in). It is also often used in sugar cookies, for example. And for homemade play-dough!
Thanks for this information, Guia. I’m happy to know that cream of tartar is in fact readily available in the US. Phew!
Home-made play-dough? I might have to email you directly for more information
I still have to get around to making these. Whats the difference between Pikelets and pancakes Thanh?
I absolutely adore your wee plates! But then I do have a thing for them, now don’t I! They look stunning in your photos and the food’s nae bad either! X-D
Keep ‘em coming!
I couldn’t wait to use these plates!!! So out they came when I was making pikelets yesterday for breakfast
Thank you again for such a lovely gift 
Pikelets are just really pancakes in miniature form – they’re meant to be eaten in 1 or 2 bites. You’ll just have to try them
They must be right tiny! I just thought, to fit on such wee plates! They look lovely and fluffy too…mmmm…..
I have cream of tartar in my refrigerator for ages. I haven’t used it at all for anything. But I live in Bahrain, where such baking ingredients are hard to come by eg. A vanilla bean pod costs 7 Bahraini Dinars which roughly converts to 19 $ per pod.
The photos are so dream like.
Oh my, that is an expensive vanilla pod!! Cream of tartar is not sold where I live in Switzerland, so I also have to stock up when I find myself in, say, London. Thankfully, I don’t use too much of it so I never run out before I find myself in a British supermarket again. But I seem to only use it in recipes such as Angel food cake, scones and these pikelets. Did you buy the cream of tartar with a particular recipe in mind?
Ahhh, so that’s sunday brunch sorted, thanks so much
) There was me planning to be all healthy today before the christmas work dinner but no, now i’m forced to make these ;o)
I’m still confused over what a pikelet, american pancake and sotch pancake is as they all look alike but whatever their difference out of culinary courtesy i’m duty bount to give these ago!!
Great blog x
These pikelets are sort of healthy … until you load them with jam and cream, LOL!
Please let me know if you do get to try them because they seem to be mostly an Australian phenomenon. Just remember to make them small because if they’re too big, well, then they might qualify instead as a pancake instead of a pikelet.
Enjoy the Christmas work dinner tonight! Txx
So the point was, it must be a lot easier to find cream of tartar in the US
Anita, my experience is that cream of tartar can be hard to find in the US and, judging from the emails which I have received from fellow foodies in the US, they also have difficulties finding it. Most have never heard of cream of tartar!
Given Guia’s comment above, my feeling is that it probably depends on where you live and the supermarket where you shop – if there’s enough demand, the supermarket will probably stock it for their customers. Otherwise, if it’s not commonly used in American baking, I can understand that it would not be widely available.
I had emailed quite a few people the recipe above which replaces the cream of tartar and bicarb combination with just simply 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and thought I would share it with the wider community
I know a lot of people who didn’t grow up with a parent or granparents baking/cooking and using it. I think it was more mainstream years ago and if you didn’t hear of it awhile ago you don’t think to use it in a recipe now.
Hi Amber! I agree with you. I think it’s quite rare to find cream of tartar in recipes these days, so most people would not be familiar with it. And due to the sale of cookbooks across the globe, I think recipes are written with more commonly found ingredients in mind, such as baking powder instead of its individual components. I like coming across the odd recipe which uses cream of tartar, not least so I can try to use it all up before its best-by-date!
Sounds yummy!!
Have a great day
Perfect brunch food, they look comforting and wonderfully combined with the jam and cream!
It’s super easy to find cream of tartar. I’ve lived all over the US and have never had an issue finding it. Previous commenters have pointed out that it is found in the spice aisle, and one of the more common ones I’ve found was this brand http://2.imimg.com/data2/KY/XQ/MY-734719/6767-250×250.jpg
Thanks for the link, Amber! This will hopefully help others to find it at their local supermarket. Now that I see that the common brand is McCormick’s, I could certainly picture it in the spice aisle, although I never thought to look there myself!
I have to say that I’m a bit relieved to find that cream of tartar is actually sold in the US because I have a few recipes which I want to post which use this as an ingredient
Thanks for your help!
You’re welcome! I hope it helps someone pick it out of the spice lineup easier!
Hi and thanks for the recipe! I, too, live in the US, I’ve lived both in the Midwest and on the West Coast, and have never had an issue finding cream of tartar. One of my family recipes for a kind of cookie called snickerdoodles absolutely relies on cream of tartar. As others have said, it’s in the spice section of just about any grocery store, according to my experience.
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe in its more authentic version!
Thanks for your comment, Laurie! Sounds like the spice aisle it is!
I’ve tried snickerdoodles a few times and absolutely love them! Though I’ve never made them myself yet …
Please let me know if you do try these pikelets
Unlike the big and fluffy pancakes which are well-known in the US, these pikelets are a bit different in that they are more intended as a small snack, something to be eaten with your hands.
Hi from an Aussie in Germany. I can’t find cream tartar here in Germany. Breakfast looked great in your home this weekend.
Hi Julie! Maybe I should re-name my post as it appears the unavailability of cream of tartar is more an issue outside of the US, LOL!
I also can’t find cream of tartar in Switzerland so I stock up whenever I am in the UK. Well, one container a year is often more than enough.
Just had a peek at your blog and I look forward to reading more!
suburban pennsylvania–cream of tartar is readily available in the spice section of any major grocery store
Thanks for letting us know, Chris! Great to hear from someone from Pennsylvania
These pikelets look delicious!! Cream of tartar is available in the spice section, as you know now..haha. It has always been there, and I have never had a problem finding it! Normally the baking ingredients are right beside the spices in American grocery stores anyway, so that helps a little. =) Great photos!!
Thanks, Ambro! I think the supermarkets I have visited in the US have tended to keep the baking stuff separate to the spices. And as cream of tartar is sold in the baking section in Australia and the UK, I never thought to look in the spice section. Good to know where to look now
I’d definitely call these Scotch pancakes (and I love them !)
Ah yes, Nigella has a recipe for Scotch pancakes in Feast which I tried once, thinking that they looked like pikelets. But they did not taste like pikelets at all … I’ve just looked up Nigella’s recipe and it contains white wine vinegar and golden syrup. So perhaps Scotch pancakes are more distant cousins to the pikelets, rather than one and the same thing?
What strange ingredients for Scotch pancakes (Nigella’s recipe, I mean). It just shows how all these names overlap but we each mean something slightly different when we say them. I also know them as drop scones. Now to me, a pikelet is a thinner flatter version of a crumpet, and is covered with little holes…
LOL!! Yes, it is rather interesting how these same names are used by all of us, but with different meanings ascribed to each word. Growing up in Australia, I never heard of the term “drop scones” or “Scotch pancakes”. And I’m not sure I know of these flat crumpets, although they sound pretty good …
Great work adapting the recipe. It’s hard sometiems when some ingredients are hard to come by in other places. Same thing happened with my custard shortbread – custard powder is not that common in the US.
Yes it’s difficult when you’re not sure what ingredients are available where, and I’m speaking as someone who lives in a country where British and American ingredients are pretty hard to come by! I’m pretty sure I saw custard powder in the US, though not the Bird’s brand, of course. I still have your custard shortbread on my to-do list – I know they will taste fabulous!
We have made these for a cocktail party for this New Year’s, planning with 2 different toppings. Just been testing them and they are wonderful! Too full for dinner now!
Question – what is the correct pronunciation of these pikelets? Being Canadian, not entirely sure if they are “pickle – ets” or Pike – lets (as in Pike, the fish). Seems a silly question but one I cannot seem to answer as I continue to google them, and would like to be able to correctly pronouce for company!
Thank you very much!
Hello Barb! So wonderful to hear that you are making these for your New Years party! They are great as finger food and popular with both kids and adults. What sort of toppings are you serving them with?
Your second guess at the pronunciation is correct; we pronounce them pike-lets. It’s not a silly question at all, considering that there is much debate about what these cakes are actually called in different countries!
I hope it will be a fantastic party! Wishing you a great start to the New Year!
Thanks for the pronunciation correction! I appreciate that!
One type will be with a creamy mayonnaise mixture, with sour cream, chives, & lemon, then topped with smoked salmon and tiny strips of lemon peel. The other will have a touch of pesto, and topped with sundried tomato strips and a shave of parmesan.
We are looking forward to serving them! I will let you know if they are a hit!
Happy New Year!
Thanks,
Barb
Oh my, they sound delicious!! I hope they will be a hit with your guests
In any event, I’m thrilled that you have tried this recipe and are happy with the results. Have a Happy New Year!
I have some cream of tartar in my cabinet. Never had a problem finding it here in Virginia. Let me know if you need some and I can post it to you.
Thanks Sherry! I ran out of ground cinnamon the other day (not sure how that happened!) and I thought of you and your spice catalogue
Hope you guys are well! Hugs to Lyla.
You have inspired me to make pikelets this weekend! Mum used to make them loads when we were young and I’ve never made them. Thank you for the reminder! x
Funny how pikelets seem to be something we all ate in our childhood but not so much now as adults. Lately, I have been making pikelets much more often than the usual pancakes.
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