Yorkshire Puddings aka Popovers
I never met a Yorkshire Pudding that I didn’t like. They weren’t a staple growing up in the US, but one evening, 20 years ago, my world was opened when I attended a dinner party at my older cousin’s home and the sweet gift from the heavens was placed on my plate. She called it a “Popover” and gave me some history on its Northern English origins which you can read about here. I’m not reinventing the wheel but rather simply providing the recipe that I currently use!
From reading various recipes you’ll notice that some say to chill the batter, some never mention temperature at all, and others insist on bringing the ingredients to room temperature. For me? I am a fan of the room temperature batter as I get a better “pop” on them. I have tried chilling and resting the batter overnight and got great results as well, but generally, I do not plan that much ahead of time! The one method I will caution you on is using cold ingredients, mixing, and then sticking in the oven as you can clearly see the difference with the rise.
This is also a bread item that you don’t want to buildup too much gluten whilst mixing. If you use a blender, only use it for 30 seconds and if a whisk is used, whisk until just smooth. Once you get the hang of your popovers, you can experiment by adding various herbs and flavors to them! Try adding a tablespoon of sugar to the batter and make a “Dutch Baby” or puffed pancake, which is a sweeter Yorkshire Pudding/popover made in a large baking pan and then cut up into wedges. They are a great breakfast (or dessert) item that is elevated by topping with syrup, cinnamon sugar, fresh fruit, or anything you can think of! My favorite? A little fresh squeezed lemon juice and powdered sugar.
However you choose to make your Yorkshire Puddings, you’ll be sure to have an easy and tasty treat, let alone the “wow” of watching it grow in the oven.
Recipe Card
Note: If there was one kitchen gadget that I would recommend, it would be a kitchen scale. It takes the guesswork out of baking creating better success with recipe outcomes. All of my recipes are written in weight. If you do not have a scale and need to convert a recipe or ingredient to volume, you can use the buttons below and copy /paste the recipe into the handy recipe conversion tool or the single ingredient conversion.
Yorkshire Pudding/ Popovers
Ingredients
Method
- Take the ingredients out of the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature.*
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit place the rack in the middle or low position, making sure to have plenty of headroom for them to "pop".
- Put the eggs, milk, and salt, if using, into the blender and blend until smooth.*
- Add Flour and process for 20 seconds.
- Divide the butter equally and drop the piece into each cavity of the chosen pan.
- Place pan into the oven to heat and melt butter.*
- Remove the tin from the oven and pour the batter evenly into each cavity.
- Place immediately back into the oven onto the middle rack and bake undisturbed for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.*
- Remove from the oven and using a sharp knife, pierce each popover to vent them so they do not get soggy.*
* Notes (if you see an * please check here):
- Allowing the ingredients to come to room temp allows them to have a bigger "pop" in the oven
- Heating should only take 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to let the butter burn.
- Alternatively, you can hand whisk the mixture until well combined.
- Make sure to not open the oven until the end at the 30-minute mark. Use your oven light so you can check on them through the glass window. After 30 minutes you can check on them and continue baking if more browning is warranted.
- If you use a muffin tin or Yorkshire Pudding Tin, you make not have to vent them as the middle tends to stay open.