Light as Air Perfect Popovers

Monday 2 March 2020


All my life I have wondered what Popovers are.  I had never seen one in real life, but had seen many photos of them and pictures of popover pans. My ex employer had plans to bring a popover pan back with her on one of her many trips to the US, but had never ever got around to it.


I spied this recipe for them on New England Today Food for Perfect Popovers the other day and once again my interest was piqued.  I so wanted to try to make these rather elusive and delicious looking quick breads.


For the first time, I was told that I could use muffin tins, although they would not rise as high as they would in a popover tin  . . .  nobody had ever told me this before.  Could I really do this? 


Then I remembered these little individual aluminium pudding basins that I have for steaming individual puddings in and I thought  to myself . . .  I bet those would work wonderfully and much better than muffin tins!  They are taller for a start!



And they did work wonderfully, with the only problem being that by the time that I filled each one half full, I only had enough batter to fill five of them.  No worries . . .


There is nothing unsual at all about the batter . . .  its pretty much the same as Yorkshire Pudding batter  . . .  eggs, flour, milk and a pinch of salt . . .


You dump it all into a bowl and then whisk it together until smooth.  I put mine through a strainer as well just to make sure it was really smooth and there were no lumps.


I popped the pudding basins onto a baking sheet and put them into the oven while it was heating up to the proper temperature.  These begin in a really hot oven.  My oven doesn't actually go any higher than the temperature that was required for these.


By the time the oven had heated up my tins were perfectly heated and I took them out and popped a dab of butter into each one, which melted pretty much instantly. No surprise there.  

I was then ready to fill the cups.



Because I had strained my batter into a large glass measuring cup this was very easy to do.  No fuss no muss, but like I said I only had enough to fill five of my basins.


Once they have been in that incredibly hot oven for about 20 minutes, you turn the temperature down to a moderate heat  . . .  and then finish the bake time for another 15 to 20 minutes.


Hmmm . . . this sounded awfully familiar.  This is the same thing that I do with my Yorkshire Pudding recipe.  My Yorkshire Puddings are legendary.   The recipe for them comes from my late Canadian FIL. He was a army cook and he knew his peas and carrots. They turn out perfect every single time.


I wasn't surprised when they came out of the oven. They looked exactly like Yorkshire puddings for the most part.  They even tasted pretty much like Yorkshire Puddings as well.



There was some crispy little bits attached to the outsides, which I can only think are butter solids that got gilded golden brown . . .


These were wonderfully delicious.  Light.  Crisp.  Airy.  Golden brown on the outsides with a soft interior . . .  perfect for spreading with butter and dropping in a dollop of your favourite jam. 


Which is in my case, Wild Blueberry from Bonne Maman . . . and of course Danish Lurpak butter  . . .


The main difference between these and Yorkshire Puddings is that for a Yorkshire pudding you will use beef dripping for the fat or suet . . .  but with these popovers you use  butter.  Plain salted butter.  These are perfect filled and spread with something sweet  . . . and Yorkshire puddings are perfect for holding and cupping a beautiful rich and silky hot meat gravy.  Po-tay-to  . . .  Po-tah-to.

Perfect Popovers

Perfect Popovers

Yield: 6
Author:
Crisp and golden brown on the outside, tender on the inside, these  light as air bakes are fabulous served with butter and a dollop of your favourite jam.

ingredients:

  • 85g plain flour, sifted (2/3 cup)
  • 160ml whole milk (2/3 cup)
  • 3 large free range eggs
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 1/2 TBS butter cut into 6 thin slices
  • Butter and jam for serving

instructions:

How to cook Perfect Popovers

  1. Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 7.  Place a popover pan or 6 deep muffin cups into the oven to heat while the oven is heating and while you are mixing together the batter.
  2. Whisk together the flour, milk, eggs and salt until smooth. 
  3. Remove the hot pan from the oven and place a slice of butter into each cup.  It should pretty much melt right away.  Fill the cups half full of the batter and pop the pan back into the oven.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180*C.350*F/ gas mark 4.  Continue to bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes, until the popovers are puffed and golden brown.
  5. Serve warm with butter and jam.

Did you make this recipe?
Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #EnglishKitchen
Created using The Recipes Generator



This really was a most delicious experiment and as you can see my popovers rose incredibly high and were incredibly light and crisp. In short  . . . yes . . .  Perfect! 



11 comments

  1. Mmmm, I've gotta make these! Neiman Marcus servers these with a raspberry butter, I haven't had them for many years and I'd forgotten how good they are. I even have a popover pan so I'm making these right now, yes, right now at midnight. These will be a great bedtime snack. Thanks Marie!

    ReplyDelete
  2. While I haven't made them often, I LOVE Popovers. This looks like a great version to try for the family. Now if I ever want to have them again I need to search for a gluten free version. One thing though, although they are a little on the sweet side, they CAN be used for savory fillings too. I've seen something along the line of Chicken a la King in them but I love them when they're allowed to cool a bit and used at a luncheon or bunch filled with a nice chicken salad. One that is nice and chunky with perhaps a bit of pineapple in it, a more summery version. This is not the time to create the old fashion ground meat chicken salad my older relatives always made for sandwiches. That's just a start of uses, the imagination is the only limitation in what can be served in them. Just think, how often does one get to eat the serving vessel? They're also great for breakfast. Imagine these on Christmas or Easter morning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am not sure how they would work gluten free Pam, but it doesn't hurt to try, let me know how you get on! Hey would be nice filled with chicken salad or chicken a la king as well! Thanks for your suggestions! xoxo

      Delete
  3. Popovers were the very first thing we learned to cook in Home Economics class in 7th grade. We just used muffin tins. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We never did popovers in Home Ec, perhaps it was an American thing??? Or maybe I missed the week we did them! xoxo

      Delete
  4. An update - we made these last night. They puffed up to 5 inches high and were wonderful. Very easy to make, the batter was finished even before the oven was heated to temperature. We'll be making these many times, perfect recipe!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know how I forgot to respond to your first comment Jeannine! Sorry about that. I am so very pleased that you baked them and that you enjoyed! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience. Raspberry butter sounds gorgeous! Yummy! xoxo

      Delete
  5. I might have to try this one. I've never made popovers and always love it when I have one (which is pretty rare.) They look so good with that jam!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They were fabulous with jam and butter Jeanie. I will be making these often! I hope that you try them! xoxo

      Delete
  6. Oh....thank you, Marie, for this recipe!! The club where our firm did the majority of luncheons and business meetings made the most fabulous popovers....but they long since closed and I haven't had one since. I was always going to have a go at making them, but never did...I see that changing in my very near future!!! Thanks again! Robin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really hope you will make them Robin! I just know you are going to enjoy them as we did! xoxo

      Delete

Thanks for stopping by. I love to hear from you so do not be shy!


BEFORE LEAVING A COMMENT OR RATING, ASK YOURSELF:
Did you make the recipe as directed? Recipe results are not guaranteed when changes have been made.

Is this comment helpful to other readers? Rude or hateful comments will not be approved. Remember that this website is run by a real person.

Are you here to complain about ads? Please keep in mind that I develop these recipes and provide them to you for free. Advertising helps to defray my cost of doing so, and allows me to continue to post regular fresh content.

Thanks so much for your understanding! I appreciate you!