Perfect Popovers

Perfect Popovers are a special dinner or brunch treat. With a few simple tips, this recipe never fails!

My mom loved making popovers and gifted me with a popover pan a couple decades ago. Thanks to Tuesdays with Dorie, I have the recipe for classic popovers compliments of Marion Cunningham.

 Perfect Popovers!

This fabulous popover recipe was developed by Marion Cunningham. You’ll never need to hunt down another as these were incredible! The recipe can be found on page 213 of Baking with Julia, and our hosts are Paula of Vintage Kitchen Notes and Amy of  Bake with Amy. Check out how they fared with this recipe.

How to Make the Best Popovers

My mom was a huge fan of popovers. In fact, she gave me both of my cast iron popover pans. But Marion gives us alternatives for those who don’t own this specialized bakeware.

• If you don’t own a cast iron popover pan, muffin tins or custard cups will do in a pinch.
• These popovers are a cinch to whip up; just add milk, eggs, salt, flour and a bit of melted butter to your blender, process till smooth, then divide batter evenly between the buttered popover cups.

• PRO-Tip: If your batter looks lumpy, pass it through a strainer.
• Fill custard cups with 1/3 cup batter and muffin tins with 1/4 cup batter. Any excess can be divided among the cups.

• I veered from the recipe directions by preheating my popover pan in the oven, then brushing it with melted butter before pouring in the batter, just like I do with our holiday Yorkshire puddings.
• Yorkshire puddings are basically popovers made with roast drippings. Perfect with prime rib.

• Heating the pan first encourages a quick puff. This is especially beneficial if you’re using a cast iron pan.
• For the best results, start your popovers at 425º for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven to 350º and bake another 15 minutes. Do not open the oven door.

• Popovers are at their puffiest right out of the oven. You can hold them at room temperature for a few minutes, or wrap them airtight, freeze them for up to a month, and reheat them in a 350º F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, and they´ll taste good, but never as good as just baked.

Photos circa 2012 (those above were updated in 2016)

The Results

This eggy batter rose beautifully into mushroom-shaped puffs of deliciousness. I took the advice of some of my fellow TWD members and decreased the second baking time to 15 minutes. I smeared a warm popover with some apricot preserves.  Heavenly.

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Perfect Popovers

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Perfect popovers from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. Recipe by Marion Cunningham.

• Author: Liz Berg
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 55 mins
• Yield: 10 servings 1x
• Category: Bread, Side Dish
• Method: Mixing, Baking
• Cuisine: British

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup whole or 2% milk, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

1. Position a rack on the lowest rung of the oven and preheat the oven to 425º.
2. Butter or spray nine ¾ cup glass custard cups or ten ½ cup muffin cups. If you´re using custard cups, place them on a jelly-roll pan, leaving space between each cup. If you´re using muffin pans, you´ll need to use two 12-hole muffin tins because, to give the popovers ample air circulation, you won´t be filling all of the holes.
3. Pour all the ingredients into the container of a blender and whirl until smooth. (This can be done in a food processor or in a bowl using a hand-held mixer). Strain the batter if it is at all lumpy.
4. Baking the popovers: For the custard cups, pour 1/3 of batter into each cup, dividing any extra batter among the cups. For the muffin cups, use ¼ cup of batter for each cup, filling alternate cups in each tin so that every popover has puffing space.
5. Bake, without opening the door, for 25 minutes, until the popovers are puffed, nicely browned, and crisp on the exterior. Turn the temperature down to 350º and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, to help dry out the interior, which, no matter what you do, will always be a little doughy in the center.
6. Serve immediately.

Notes

If you use beef fat from your roast in the bottom of the popover pan, these puffed quick breads become Yorkshire puddings.