Julia Child's Popovers A Classic Recipe Made Easy (2024)

FAQs

Why aren t my popovers airy? ›

They tell you to use warm ingredients, and that is good. Too cold and you won't get the popovers to steam internally quickly enough. But be aware that you shouldn't make it too hot. If your milk and/or butter is hot enough to cook the eggs while mixing, the batter won't rise.

Preheating your oven to the correct temperature is probably the most important thing you can do to ensure popover success. The hotter your oven, the higher your popovers will rise. Which makes sense: the faster liquid in the batter turns into steam, the more chance your popover has to expand before its crust sets.

Chef's Notes. The difference between popovers and Yorkshire puddings is that Yorkshires use the beef fat (the drippings from a beef roast). These popovers are a bit lighter in flavor and you can also prepare them before the roast is even done.

If your popovers lose volume when they come out of the oven, they are probably underbaked. When these airy baked goods aren't cooked enough, too much steam stays trapped inside. That moisture condenses once they're removed from the oven, causing them to collapse.

The keys to baking popovers are to use a high oven temperature (I prefer 425° F) and to not disturb them (by opening the oven) during the process. I know, I know—I like to peek in on my baked goods, too. But this is one time you really should try to resist.

Let the Batter Rest

3) Allow the batter to sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking or, preferably. cover and refrigerate it for 24 up to 48 hours. Allow it to come to room temperature.

How to make popovers. Before we get started: all of your ingredients should be at warm room temperature. To warm ice-cold eggs from the fridge, place them in a cup of hot tap water for about 10 minutes.

Remove from oven:

Popovers lose their crunch if they linger in the pan, so turn them out on a wire rack immediately and poke a small opening in the side of each with a paring knife to let the steam escape.

SF Gate claims that if your bakes are flat and dense, rather than tall and puffy, you must adjust your ingredient ratios. Usually, the batter consists of a simple egg, milk, and flour mix but if you add too much flour, the batter will be too dense and your popovers won't have the power to rise.

Yorkshire Pudding/ Popovers

Yorkshire Puddings are a staple in England with a Roast Dinner. Here in the US we know them as Popovers which are the same thing as the modern Yorkshire Pudding, except using a different pan.

What is the British word for popovers? ›

History. The popover is an American version of Yorkshire pudding and similar batter puddings made in England since the 17th century, The oldest known reference to popovers dates to 1850.

Popovers -- being traditionally an American invention in contrast to the French crepes and British Yorkshire pudding, which is again from essentially the same batter -- have traditionally been baked in heavy cast-iron pans. Popover pans look like muffin pans except that the cups are deeper.

Left to sit, popovers tend to get soggy and though they can be re-heated, the results are simply not the same. And that's it, really.

And be sure to grease not only the cups, but the surface around them as well. The popovers are going to balloon up and over the edges of the wells. Fill the cups about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Put the pan in the oven, on a lower rack.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 15 minutes more, or until popovers are puffed and browned. Do not check popovers until they have baked for a total of 30 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and serve hot.

The tall narrow cups of the popover pan force the popovers up and up, and the steam comes together to make one big bubble which remains after they've baked, giving them their characteristic hollow center.

But if you want the popovers to hold their shape longer without deflating and settling quite as much, bake them for an additional 5 minutes (for a total of 40 minutes) IF you can do so without them becoming too dark. This will make them a bit sturdier, and able to hold their “popped” shape a bit longer.

Why are my popovers deflating? As soon as you remove the popovers from the oven, poke a little hole in the top of each one. This will give the steam someplace to escape while cooling. If you don't do this the steam stays trapped inside making them soft which causes them to deflate.