Popovers

star rating (48) rate this recipe »
quick-n-easy
Recipe photo
Hands-on time:
Baking time:
Yield: 6 large, 12 medium, or 18 mini
Recipe photo

Flour, milk, eggs, salt, and butter: what a simple combination of ingredients for such a sublime treat! These popovers don't require a special pan, nor any unusual mixing method; just blend in a … More »

Popovers

star rating (48) rate this recipe »
quick-n-easy
Hands-on time:
Baking time:
Yield: 6 large, 12 medium, or 18 mini
Published: 01/01/2010

Ingredients

  • 4 large eggs, warmed in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes before cracking
  • 1 1/2 cups milk (skim, low-fat, or full-fat), lukewarm
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter

Tips from our bakers

  • For cheese popovers, add 1/4 cup Vermont Cheese Powder to the batter along with the flour.
  • For herbed popovers, stir 1 1/2 teaspoons of Pizza Seasoning, or your favorite dried herbs, into the batter along with the flour.
  • Want to make the batter in a blender? Go for it. Blend eggs, milk, and salt; add flour, blending till smooth; then add the melted butter at the end, blending till frothy.
  • Serve with honey butter or maple butter: 4 ounces (1 stick) softened butter mixed with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 2 to 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup.
  • Or, serve with cheese butter: 4 ounces (1 stick) softened butter mixed with 2 tablespoons Vermont Cheese Powder.
  • Using a popover pan, this recipe will make six standard popovers; or 18 minis. The minis need to bake about 10 minutes less than indicated; the standard popovers, about 5 minutes more.

Directions

see this recipe's blog »

1) Preheat the oven to 450°F. Position a rack on a lower shelf. The top of the fully risen popovers should be about midway up the oven. What you don't want is for the tops of the popping popovers to be too close to the top of the oven, as they'll burn.

2) Use a standard 12-cup metal muffin tin, one whose cups are close to 2 1/2" wide x 1 1/2" deep. Grease the pan thoroughly, covering the area between the cups as well as the cups themselves. Make sure the oven is up to temperature before you begin to make the popover batter.

3) Use a wire whisk to beat together the eggs, milk, and salt. Whisk till the egg and milk are well combined, with no streaks of yolk showing.

4) Add the flour all at once, and beat with a wire whisk till frothy; there shouldn't be any large lumps in the batter, but smaller lumps are OK. OR, if you're using a stand mixer equipped with the whisk attachment, whisk at high speed for 20 seconds. Stop, scrape the sides of the bowl, and whisk for an additional 20 to 30 seconds at high speed, till frothy.

5) Stir in the melted butter, combining quickly.

6) Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 to 3/4 full.

7) Make absolutely certain your oven is at 450°F. Place the pan on a lower shelf of the oven .

8) Bake the popovers for 20 minutes without opening the oven door. Reduce the heat to 350°F (again without opening the door), and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until they're a deep, golden brown. If the popovers seem to be browning too quickly, position an oven rack at the very top of the oven, and put a cookie sheet on it, to shield the popovers' tops from direct heat.

9) If you plan on serving the popovers immediately, remove them from the oven, and stick the tip of a knife into the top of each, to release steam and help prevent sogginess. Slip them out of the pan, and serve.

10) 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.

Reviews

1 2345  All  
  • star rating 02/16/2012
  • Allan from VA USA
  • The taste was excellent, preparation easy, presentation interesting, no two are alike. My first try came out great. I accidentally pre-heated the muffin pan, each cup had approx 1/2 tsp oil in it. They rose beautifully within 20 min @ 450 and only needed 15 min @ 350 to come out done. It's best if cups are filled 3/4 or more. There was no sticking when done and all fell out easily. They all came out light, airy, with crisp shell and very buttery taste,NOT soggy or collapsed. Fantastic recipe !!
  • star rating 01/25/2012
  • Aly from Providence
  • The flavor of my popovers was outstanding! The problem I consistently have with popovers persisted today, however. How do I keep them from sticking to the pan? I use room temperature ingredients, slather the muffin tin with canola oil, follow baking instructions to the letter. I would be grateful for any advice you guys at KAF might have. It's so disappointing to have to pry them out of the tins and ruin their beautiful tops...then tackle the pan clean-up. Blech.
    Glad you like the flavor but sorry for the sticking! Use a pan spray or melted butter. We sell an awesome spray called,Everbake Spray. It is a company favorite. Try it! Elisabeth>/strong>
  • star rating 12/11/2011
  • King of England from KAF Community
  • I should not rate this at this time/ I used whole wheat flour, All purpose Iodized sea salt Regular Homo Milk. We were out of All purpose flour, reason to use wheat flour, don't believe it mixed well. Taste was bland or flat, my guess was the wheat flour, the inside of Popover was hollow, my guess was the wheat flour. Color was good left in 40 minutes. Prep was easy. I will get some all purpose flour next time to make. any suggestions for taste if it was not the flour?
    Changing the recipe back to it's as written ingredient list will make a huge difference in the flavor and consistency of the popovers. Looking forward to your next review. Frank @ KAF.
  • star rating 11/22/2011
  • Healy from Canada
  • OMG, OMG....I have been dreaming about popovers since I first tried them back in December of 2008...that was 3 long years ago. I never knew that making these little babies were so easy. Thank you KAF!!!! You did it again. You gave us one easy recipe to follow, and the end result is SUPERBE. I added a little bit of sugar in the batter (borrowed from another recipe), slid the dough twice and the popovers never dropped as they cooled down. Will be making these again this Christmas.
  • star rating 11/13/2011
  • joshielevy from KAF Community
  • I've been struggling with joy of cooking and cooks illustrated popover recipies for years with inconsistent results. This recipe worked perfectly the 1st time, I was delightfully surprised!
  • star rating 11/03/2011
  • anyasmifya from KAF Community
  • Easy & Delicious. This is my go-to popover recipe. I have not tried adding things to it yet. But definitely will be trying something soon. They are delicious plain with butter.
  • star rating 10/31/2011
  • sekees from KAF Community
  • This is my first time doing a review, but I just had to comment on these popovers. I have known I was celiac for about 10 months now and have spent a lot of time relearning how to cook. Fortunately I enjoyed cooking to begin with, but I can't tell you how many things have gotten thrown away in the process......until I found king Arthur gluten free products! These popovers are super simple and completely awesome! I have been looking for something special for the holidays and I have found it! You can serve this to anyone! Thank you so much for making the effort to provide delicious products to people who can't eat gluten. My daughter is also celiac and we love King Arthur!
  • star rating 09/24/2011
  • Leigh from MA
  • My popovers were very "top heavy." They rose beautifully and the bottoms were perfectly hollow, but the tops were very heavy and doughy. Any suggestions?
    You might want to try using just a little less batter in the cups. Frank @ KAF.
  • star rating 08/12/2011
  • carlaji from KAF Community
  • My family loves these popovers, but I can never seem to get them to not deflate. How do I get them to look like the picture or like the ones I see in the shop? Also, if I do keep them an extra 5 minutes (which usually does burn the tops a bit) do I also poke them to let out the steam? I have been but they still seem to fall.
    They may be deflating if they are under-baked, so if you would like to keep them in a little longer without them getting too dark, just tent a piece of foil over the top. I hope this helps. ~Amy
1 2345  All  

Related recipes: