Popovers

If you had not had a popover then you are in for a treat. Very light and oh so yummy!  Great with jam and some hot tea.  You start with an egg batter which is similar to the batter used in Yorkshire Pudding.  Popovers are light and hollow pastries. Can be made in a popover pan or individual custard/ramekin cups.  Could be made in a muffin pan, but they will not rise as much and you would need to space them out in the pan using ten of the muffin cups instead of twelve.

2 large eggs
1 cup whole or 2% milk
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil for each tin in the pan (1 tablespoon total)

Add the eggs and milk to a bowl and blend.  Add flour, butter, and salt.  Beat with mixer until batter is bubbly and smooth.  Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.  While the batter is resting, add 1/2 tsp oil to each tin in the pan.  Adjust the rack in the oven to the lowest setting.  Put the pan in the oven and turn temperature to 450 degrees.  High heat is crucial to the rise of the popovers.  You fill the pan when it is hot and want to do this as quickly as possible to get the pan back in the oven.  Do not open the oven door either.  The depth of the popover pan and high heat allows the popovers to rise. You can still make perfectly tasty popovers in a muffin tin but they will not rise that high. The variation will be at the end.

You want to transfer the batter into something you can pour from.  I have a mixing bowl with a spout and handle (which I highly recommend).  After the batter is done resting, remove the pan from the oven and quickly pour batter evenly into each tin.  Place tin in oven and bake for 20 minutes without opening the oven door for the duration. After 20 minutes, turn heat back to 350 and cook for another 15 minutes.  Popovers will be golden brown.

Muffin Tin Variation:
Use a 12 cup muffin tin but you will only use the outer 10 muffin tins.  You will need a tablespoon of oil plus 2 extra teaspoons of oil to coat the tins. Divide oil evenly to the 10 tins.  Follow the rest of the directions as above.

You can make the batter 1 day ahead of time.  Follow the recipe up until you would put the pan in the oven. Let the batter rest and then tightly wrap bowl with plastic wrap.  Let the batter come to room temperature and stir before adding to hot pan.

Here is a picture of what the popover pan looks like:

140 calories per serving.