Popovers

Popovers are magic. You mix eggs, milk, flour and salt, pour it into muffin pans with no yeast or baking powder, and after 40 minutes, poufy gold clouds emerge from the oven. A few tips to perfect popovers: have the batter at room temperature, don’t overmix and don’t peek. If you open the oven door, the steam (which is what makes the popovers rise) will escape.

Yield: Makes 12 small, 6 large popovers

Ingredients

Vegetable oil spray

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1-1/4 cups milk, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with rack in middle of oven.

Generously spray a popover pan (or muffin pan) with vegetable oil.

In a bowl, mix the flour and salt. Whisk the eggs and milk together and add to the dry ingredients. Mix until it reaches the consistency of heavy cream. Don’t overbeat.

Pour the batter into a 2- to 4-cup liquid measuring cup for easy pouring. Let the batter sit at room temperature about a half hour.

The batter can be made in advance and refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Bring back to room temperature before using.

Place the greased pan in the preheated oven for 2 to 3 minutes, until hot. Fill the cups half full with batter.

Bake for 20 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more. The popovers should be golden brown. Do not open oven during baking.

Recipe by Bonny Wolf from Talking With My Mouth Full: Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes, and Other Kitchen Stories (St Martin’s, 2006)