Popovers made with the perfect ratio of milk, flour, and eggs to create a light and airy interior with a slightly crisp exterior. Can be made with a popover pan or muffin tin which produces double the amount. That way you can have two instead of one and it still counts as one!
I’ve been making popovers forever and they’ve always come out perfect. But, being me (psycho who analyzes her recipes to a point of craziness), I checked out other “perfect” recipes and started experimenting again. Why do I do this? Because I’m a perfectionist and when I post a recipe, I want to make sure I give you my best. What was the outcome? I stuck to my recipe because it produced the buttery crust and airy eggy interior that’s bar none.
Tips for perfect popovers:
You need to preheat your oven and make sure it’s reached its temperature before putting in the popovers. I’ve found I got the same results whether I preheated my pan or not. It’s an extra step I don’t feel is necessary. That said, keep reading for more on that topic.
Oil or butter for greasing pan? I’ve always used butter, but tried a recipe which stated to preheat the pan with oil for 15+ minutes. Let's just say I went back to butter. I place a cube of butter in each mold and put it in the hot oven just long enough to melt the butter before adding the batter.
Blend or whisk? I like to use my blender because I can easily pour the batter into the pan. If you mixed by hand, use a ladle or transfer the batter into a large measuring cup to easily pour the batter.
Using room temperature eggs and warmed milk prevent the melted butter from clumping when it’s added to the batter.
Using a slightly less amount of flour to milk produces the perfect texture without a raw flour or gummy taste.
I use whole or 2% milk and have no data for you for skim or substitutes.
Sugar in popovers? I will tell you that just 1 teaspoon gives better flavor and 1 teaspoon of sugar adds 16 calories which if you divide that into 6 popovers, it equals 2.66666666 each. If using a muffin tin you can divide that number by 2. If you want to omit it, that’s okay too.
Does the batter really need to rest? I’ll be honest, I mix and pour. But there have been times when I was distracted so the batter sat for a bit. Did it make a difference? It didn't so why wait?
Tools I recommend to produce the best popovers:
Or if mixing by hand -
I also recommend using a baking sheet under the popover pan for easy removal.
More delicious breads to enjoy:
- Perfect skillet cornbread
- Sour cream drop biscuits
- Beer bread
- Perfect dinner rolls
- Single rise white bread
- Creamy garlic bread
Life is too short for mediocre food.
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Big Tall Beautiful Popovers
PRINT PIN SAVEIngredients
- 2 tablespoons butter for greasing molds
- 4 large eggs room temp*
- 1 ½ cups warm whole milk whole milk works best
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional but recommended
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, if using salted, reduce salt to ½ teaspoon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Once it’s preheated, continue.
- Slice the 2 tablespoons of butter into equal pieces for each mold in pan. If using a popover pan, cut into 6 pieces. If using muffin tin, cut into 12 pieces. Place each piece into each mold.
- Place the pan into the oven until the butter is melted and sizzling but not browned. Remove the muffin/popover pan from oven - this is where using a baking sheet comes in handy.
- Blend all the ingredients until smooth. Should take no more than 20 seconds.
- Pour batter into each mold until it’s ¾ full. Place the pan on a baking sheet for easy removal.
- Bake for 20 minutes then reduce oven temp to 350 and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes more. Do not open the oven to peek. If using a muffin pan, it will be more like 10 - 15 minutes. The popovers should be golden brown.
- Once the popovers are baked, remove them from the pan and serve. It’s best to serve them immediately. If serving later, poke the top of each top with a sharp knife to remove the steam. You can reheat them in the oven for a few minutes to warm them up.
- Enjoy as is, or serve with butter, gravy, or jam.
Notes
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