Tuesday, February 16, 2010

popovers!

We rediscovered the wonders of popovers this past weekend and ended up baking them two days in a row. They're a cross between a muffin and a mini custardy souffle. My family loves them straight out of the oven with a smear of jam. The batter is very simple and can be made by children with only a little assistance from a grown-up. Popovers make a perfect activity for a snowy afternoon snack, but I've honestly been loving how easy they are for me to whip up while everyone is still in bed in the morn. The smell of them baking brings the sound of little feet scurrying down the steps to peek in at the magic happening in the oven. Watching them POP over and PUFF up is definitely part of the fun. There are many recipes out there and lots of "right ways" to do it. I've tried a bunch of them, but come back to my own improvised one.

Popovers

Preheat the oven to 4oo degrees.
Divide 2 Tablespoons of butter into little chunks distributed into each muffin tin.
Place muffin pan into hot oven just until butter melts. Remove and use a pastry brush coat the sides of each tin.

Whisk or beat the following ingredients:

  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 cup of flour (I use a combo of unbleached and whole wheat pastry)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
Pour batter into muffin pan. Only fill half-way. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 degrees. Refrain from opening the oven or they will deflate. They're done when golden brown, and tall and puffy. Serve immediately! Some bakers recommend piercing with a fork to let steam escape, but we like to pull them apart and eat them instantly.

Editor's note: They will deflate a little bit after they come out of the oven and that's just fine. The reason you don't want them to IN the oven is that they will get heavy and dense.

When we first got into making popovers (my son was three), my mother gave us a special tin that increases their rising and popping. It's not necessary, but it's definitely fun! I also highly recommend and old fashioned egg beater. I don't think there is anything more exciting in the kitchen for kids than this timeless tool.

P.S. We just made them again... that's three out of four days! Oh my!

Enjoy!
Pin It

36 comments:

  1. Maya! You're describing what we over here in the UK call "Yorkshire Puddings" and they're typically eaten with gravy, roast meat, potatoes and vegetables on a traditional roast dinner.

    It's always amazing to see how different cultures eat the same types of thing. I love them smeared with jam or with golden syrup. Yum. Try them sprinkled with lemon juice and brown sugar too :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now I know why I was putting off making breakfast. Just needed a little inspiration from your Kitchen. Mmmmmmmm my tummy is grumbling now. I can't wait to try out this recipe.

    Thanks for breakfast, Maya!!

    Hope you have a lovely day. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Huh. You can make them in regular muffin tins? And here I was always skipping over the recipes because I thought we needed the special deep popover tins.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes, I recognized them as Yorkshire puddings too! My sons love them, but we haven't tried them for breakfast before.
    I see that will be my next task :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mmmm... I'm craving roast beef! We call them Yorkshire Pudding here in Canada and I love them smothered in gravy! I haven't tried them with jam before, but that's a great idea for eating up the leftovers! I have never used the extra deep tins before, but I will have to look for them at the store!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Excellent and hooray! We are making popovers right NOW thanks to your gracious posting! We will be using a muffin pan; wish us luck!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for thi recipe.
    I'll try it!!
    Have a nice day!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I wanted to make waffles today but I was too lazy. Maybe I will have to make these tomorrow with the boy. Maybe I should also get a hand held mixer. I had one when I was little. Trouble would be keeping it in the kitchen and keeping it off the dog...

    ReplyDelete
  9. my girls would LOVE this. We will definitely be trying this one!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'd always heard of popovers but had no idea they were this easy to make. My kids will be so excited to try this...I only hope they don't deflate on us!

    THANK you for the wonderful instructions!

    ReplyDelete
  11. lol i was going to put that these are called yorkshire puddings over here in england but a few people have beaten me to it! i've never seen the extra deep tins you have tho - ours are usually made in the muffin tin but i fully agree thy are very yummy :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh my, we usually have these at Christmas only with our standing rib roast, but why not for any old day? I can just taste them with our homemade strawberry jam now!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mmmmm, sounds yummy! I should definitely try this recipe. I've never tried to make popovers before. ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for this recipe, I've always been curious about popovers since reading Little Women as a young girl but I've still never had them. Snowy morning + popovers with jam sounds so romantic. No snow here but I can pretend.

    ReplyDelete
  15. My mom used to set popovers down on the table, and they'd all be gone before she even sat down. Then she stopped making them. I wonder why.
    Thanks for the recipe - I may have to see if they're as popular with my loves!

    ReplyDelete
  16. We call these puff pancakes and had them for supper!!! Pancake Day and all that!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am making these right now for afternoon tea. Thank you for making today's snowstorm a little more special!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yorkshire's are the best! I made a roast for the family last weekend (I am a vegetarian) All was good though as I just ate a whole plate of Yorkshire Puddings.

    ReplyDelete
  19. We made these yesterday! I like them in the morning with cheese stuffed in the middle, it's like a omlet Hot- pocket! I love them big, like Pop-up-Pancake, and with sausage: Toad in the Hole!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I LOVE popovers, though it seems harder to make them in high altitudes...they don't "pop" as well here.

    ReplyDelete
  21. These look so yummy!! Will def be trying these out over the weekend. I remember listening to a Muppets record as a kid, "The Frog Prince," and hearing the witch say, "Have a popover Froggy!" to get him to stop talking. I honestly haven't ever thought about what a popover would be like! Thanks for rekindling a funny childhood memory!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Popovers were one of my favorite breakfasts as a child too. Melting the butter in the pan is genius!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi, my name is Maria and I mail you from Italy. Wow this blog is beautiful!!!!!! Many compliments and many kisses from Italy!!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I made a heart garland for Valentine's Day using your tutorial. I even used the newspaper! I am very pleased with how it turned out! (I added it to your Flickr group.) Thanks for the great ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  25. tried and yes, they deflated on me, sigh

    ReplyDelete
  26. oK. i'm totally making those tomorrow. thanks for the reminder (about how good they are) and the recipe!!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love these kind of little morning treats and I really have to try them though it means my daughters will not be able to eat them, unless I can find a good way to substitute the eggs...

    ReplyDelete
  28. this post reminds me so much of sunday dinners with mom cooking up a storm for her very large family
    one of the family favorites was roast beef with yorkshire pudding

    ReplyDelete
  29. I am making them for brekkie right now! Isn't it SO COOL how you can post this and all over the world people will make it?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Olha, we have tried twice and they deflated both times... Any suggestions Maya? We made the kids sit the entire time they were cooking, and we never opened the oven. They looked perfect when we took them out, but moments later....FLAT! What are we doing wrong?

    ReplyDelete
  31. made these just now before my class. so warm and yummy. i baked them in a muffin pan and they turned out wonderful. how easy!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Love hearing everyone's different names and stories for popovers! Sandra, I'm sorry I wasn't clear and will put a little edit in my post after this. You don't want them to deflate in the oven, because they become heavy. AFTER they're taken out of the oven they will deflate in a few moments... that's why some folks will poke them with a fork to let the steam out... we eat them so fast that it doesn't matter. Sounds like yours were just right!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Was inspired by the recipe to finally use the popovers Pam my husband saved from his mom. Feels like a tribute to her to make them. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Thank you for this recipe! I'd always assumed these were really difficult to make, as they're trotted out with huge amounts of ceremony alongside the Christmas roast - but they are so easy! Had them for supper now, filled with stir-fried veggies.

    ReplyDelete