Why are people so excited about popovers?

 

Could it be the golden, crisp exterior?

 

Or the melt-in-your-mouth tender interior?

 

In short, yes, and yes.

 

In either case, I believe the thing that makes popovers truly irresistible is the thrill of opening the oven door to see what spectacular heights they reach as they “pop over” the top of the muffin tin. 

 

Popovers are so versatile

They can be sweet or savory.  For example, slathered with butter and raspberry jam or filled with chicken salad. Alternatively, they can be served alongside your main dish as a major upgrade to your typical biscuit. But, they’re always appreciated as a snack anytime you need a little something special.

 

While you’re making these, you might want to consider this –  Chocolate Mousse Filled Popovers 

 

The ingredients are so simple and totally cheap! Just eggs, milk and flour that makes a thin, pourable batter.

 

What’s behind the magic? The high proportion of liquid in the batter creates steam that causes the popovers to “pop” as they bake. 

You don’t need a special popover pan to make these although a popover pan does make them rise taller.

 

For instance,  this one – Non-Stick Linking Popover Pan

 

But a regular old muffin or cupcake tin works beautifully.

 

The secret to perfect popovers is: all the ingredients must be room temperature. If you forget to set your ingredients out; warm your eggs in a cup of hot tap water for 10 minutes. Warm a cup of milk in the microwave until it’s just warm to the touch.

 

 

 

PRACTICALLY PERFECT POPOVERS

 

Prep Time: 5 minutes   Cook Time: 30 to 40 minutes   Yield: 10 popovers

 

What You’ll Need:

 

• Vegetable oil or cooking spray
• 2 large eggs, room temperature 
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

 

 

Here’s How:

 

1. Move the oven rack to the lowest position and preheat the oven to 400° F.  Use either cooking spray or add ¼ teaspoon vegetable oil to 10 muffin cups (leave the middle two empty).  Place empty muffin tin in oven to heat while you make the batter. You want the pan screaming hot.
2. Place all the ingredients into a blender and process for 30 seconds. No blender? No problem. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk and melted butter together. Add flour and salt; whisk until smooth.   
3. Pour batter into a measuring cup for easy pouring.  Carefully remove the now very hot tin from the oven and divide the batter evenly into the ten oiled cups. Cups should be about half full.
4. Bake popovers for 30 – 40 minutes, until they’re puffed, golden browned and crispy.  Do not open the oven door during baking as the change in temperature can cause them to deflate and that makes no one happy. Finally, turn the popovers out onto cooling rack and pierce the bottoms with small knife to allow steam to escape. This helps keep them puffy longer.

 

Serve immediately.

 

They will keep for up to a week sealed in a zip top baggie but they lose their crispness. Reheat them in a 250°F over for a few minutes to restore freshness.

 

Kids love popovers!  

I love to make these with kids because the extreme rise when they bake is magical. There’s nothing better than seeing kids take that first bite all schmeared with butter and jam. Heaven! It’s an excellent lesson in the science of cooking, baking and steam. 

However – Because of the heat required and the need to preheat the pan I DO NOT recommend this as a recipe for kids to make themselves. Popovers require adult supervision!

 

Did I mention that popovers are super versatile? Once you have the basic recipe down, you can get as creative as you wish. Below I have some add-ins to the basic recipe to give you some ideas to get you started.

Popover Recipe Variations:

 

• Bacon and Parmesan:  Add 3 strips of cooked and crumbled bacon and ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese to the batter.

• Chocolate Popovers:  Add 3 tablespoons cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to the batter.

• Lemon Poppy Seed: Add 1 tablespoon finely-grated lemon zest and 1 tablespoon poppy seeds to the batter.

• Chive Popovers:  Add 2 tablespoons chopped chives to the batter.

• Cheesy Popovers:  Crumble a ¾ -inch cube of cheese of your favorite cheese in the bottom of each well before pouring in the batter.

• Parmesan-Herb Popovers:  Add 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning to the batter.

• Cacio e Pepe Popovers:  Add ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese and ½ teaspoon coarsely-ground black pepper to the batter.

• Basil Pesto Popovers:  Add 2 tablespoons basil pesto to the batter.

 

 

I hope these recipes have inspired you to “popover” sometime.

 

I couldn’t resist.

 

You may also like: What do you get when you cross a Zucchini with a Waffle Maker?     Warning: dangerously simple quickle recipe ahead 

 

 

Non-Stick Linking Popover Pan