Popovers

Popovers are one of my favorite additions to a weekend breakfast.  These airy, eggy breads look impressive, but are fairly easy to prepare.  The one caveat is that, in my experience, investing in a real popover pan like the one pictured makes a huge difference. In an effort to avoid a single-use piece of equipment, my first popover attempts used muffin tins and yielded disappointing results. (I now use this popover pan from Chicago Metallic.)

Popovers

Makes six popovers

Ingredients

1 3/4 C half-and-half, warmed*
2 C flour**
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 Tbl butter, melted
1 Tbl Dijon mustard

Method

Heat the half-and-half in a saucepan over medium heat until just warm. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. In a second bowl, combine the eggs, milk, butter and mustard - beat well to combine.  Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until just combined. Let batter rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450F with a rack in the middle of the oven. Heat the empty popover pan for 5 minutes.  Carefully remove from the oven and, working quickly, spray the pan with a nonstick cooking spray and fill the cups almost to the top with batter.

Bake for 15 minutes without opening the oven door. Reduce heat to 375F and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until a rich golden brown. Remove popovers from oven and pierce the sides with a sharp knife to let steam escape (to ensure they won't collapse). Serve immediately with butter.

(*You can substitute whole milk. **I've used both all-purpose and bread flour (high-gluten) with good results.)

Comments

[Jaclyn]

Those look delicious! I don't have any space in my kitchen for a popover pan at present, but I have a feeling it will be one of my first purchases in my soon-to-be bigger kitchen. Yum!

[Gemma]

Thanks Jaclyn! It is a pain to have cooking equipment that only has one real purpose, but I just love popovers and I'm willing to make an exception for them. Have fun in your new kitchen and let me know if you give them a try!

[Alex-Sandra]

Mmmm! Now I need a popover pan!! Could I add lemon zest, vanilla and a bit of sugar if i want them more sweet for sunday brunches?

[Gemma]

Hi Alex-Sandra, I think that would work just fine. Though, go easy on the additions so that you don't add too much weight to the dough.