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

FAQs

Why are my popovers not airy? ›

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.

Any muffin pan will produce a perfect popover if the butter is hot, the batter is rich and smooth and the baker is patient.

The key to perfect popovers is using a popover pan. The cylindrical walls of popover cups are straight rather than angled like those in a regular muffin tin, accentuating their puffy, mushroomed tops by forcing the batter up out of the slim space.

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.

You can make the batter ahead of time and bake the popovers the next day or prepare a batch start to finish and freeze them for later or keep a few on your counter. Check out the tips below to keep your popovers fresh. To make ahead: You can make the batter and refrigerate it for up to one day before baking.

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.

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.

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. Best to use all warm ingredients in the 40-50 degrees celsius (100-120 fahrenheit) range.

Let batter rest at room temperature for 1 hour. While batter is resting, place popover pan on a rimmed baking sheet and place on center rack of oven. Preheat to 450°F. (Preheat for at least 20 minutes to be sure temperature has been reached, or use an oven thermometer.)

Should you preheat popover pan? ›

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Generously grease aluminum popover pans or Pyrex custard cups with softened butter. You'll need enough pans to make 12 popovers. Place the pans in the oven for exactly 2 minutes to preheat.

Grease the cups of a nonstick (6-cup) popover pan very generously with softened butter or the cups of a cast-iron pan generously with vegetable shortening.

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.

Do not open the oven door during baking (this causes the popovers to deflate). Reduce the Heat and Continue Baking: Still without opening the oven, reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for another 15 minutes. Now you can open the oven door and check the popovers.

Secondly, you must make sure to preheat your oven because the hotter the oven, the higher the popovers. The most important rule, however, is the consistency of the batter. To avoid your New England-style popovers becoming dense, your batter needs to be thin.

Use a good-quality bread flour that has a high protein content, as this will give your dough the structure it needs to rise and become light and fluffy. Make sure to use the right amount of yeast for your dough. Too much yeast will cause the dough to rise too quickly, resulting in a denser texture.

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.