For those of you who grew up savoring the classic popover at your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner tables, consider yourself both blessed and lucky. My first bite of a popover didn't come until well into my adulthood. Way back when, Neiman-Marcus took the concept of the bread basket to the next level by serving a small basket of popovers at lunch. The light, airy, crunchy on the outside, yet slightly hollow and soft on the inside popover was one of the most heavenly bites I ever had. At the time, I was convinced those swoonworthy, lofty popovers had to be one of the most difficult things in the world to make. Yet, after doing a bit of research I discovered they were well within my reach.
Making the most gorgeous, high topped, golden, scrumptious popovers requires only a little bit of patience and following a few rules. The patience portion is two fold. Allowing the mixed batter to rest for 15-30 minutes before baking and not opening the oven door at any time during the 30-32 minute baking process.
There are a few other rules for making the most perfect popovers. They involve both the ingredients and baking process. One of the keys to the lightest, airiest popovers is room temperature eggs and milk. Taking your eggs out of the refrigerator the night before will ensure they are popover batter ready. Heating the milk over low heat in a pan until just barely warmed is one of the safest ways to get your milk to room temperature. Mixing your room temperature ingredients in a blender rather than whisking by hand helps to ensure you have a lump-free batter.
Another important key to a making a perfect popover is heating the popover pan in the preheated 450 degree (F) oven for five minutes before either brushing the wells with melted butter or spraying with canola oil. The butter and/or oil promotes browning. The moment the room temperature batter hits the hot metal, steam begins to form. As a result the hot pan creates the ideal environment to maximize the amount of steam. And it's that steam that helps push the batter upwards while also creating the soft texture and partially hollow interior.
Steam is your friend only during the baking popovers. As soon as the popovers come out of the oven, insert a sharp knife into the top of popover to let the steam out in order to prevent the popovers from collapsing. Releasing the steam will not only help the popovers keep their shape, it helps ensure you don't end up with a soggy popover.
Popovers are traditionally baked in a popover pan. Their straight sides and taller, skinnier cups are the shape producing the best desired, most dramatic effect. However, popovers can also be made in a muffin pan. While the popover pan might give the popover wow-factor a slight edge, ones made in muffin pans are just as delicious. Having said that, good popover pans are relatively inexpensive and worth splurging on. Especially if you plan on serving popovers year round and not only on special occasions.
Popovers are meant to be enjoyed immediately after they come out of the oven. If by chance you have any leftovers, store them in a sealed plastic bag. Reheat them in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven for 5-10 minutes to rewarm and slightly re-crisp them up.
Popovers can be simply enjoyed with a generous slathering of butter. Or you with a large dollop of some delicious homemade Strawberry Butter. How you choose to eat your popovers will depend in large part on whether they are being served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Popovers are classic for a reason as they make every meal feel a little extra special. Replacing your bread or muffin basket with a magical basket of hot, towering, airy, golden popovers is bound to be a jaw-dropping moment at your table. Does it get any better than that?
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Recipe
Popovers with Strawberry Butter
Makes 12
Ingredients
Popovers
1 1/2 cups whole milk, room temperature or heated just gently warm to the touch
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 heaping teaspoons (10g) confectionary sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
1 1/2 cups (192g) all-purpose flour (I use Unbleached Gold Medal Flour) - See Notes
Melted butter or canola spray for preparing the pan
Strawberry Butter
1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Tablespoon (15g) confectionary sugar
1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup (165g) strawberry preserves or lingonberry preserves
Directions
Popovers
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F).
2. In a blender, add in the room temperature/gently warmed milk, eggs, confectionary sugar, and Kosher salt. Blend until smooth.
3. Add in the melted butter, blending until incorporated.
4. Add in the flour and blend until the batter is smooth.
5. Let the batter rest for 15-30 minutes.
6. Put an empty (unprepared) popover pan on a baking sheet. Insert into the oven and let heat up for 5 minutes.
7. Remove pan and baking sheet. Working quickly either brush each well with melted butter or spray with canola oil. Note: I prefer using melted butter.
8. Immediately pour the batter into the hot popover pan until it is about 2/3's full. Note: If using a muffin pan, fill slightly past the halfway mark.
9. Bake popovers for 20 minutes at 450 degrees (F). Do Not Open the Oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees (F) and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes or until the popovers have risen and are a deep golden brown. Note: You can check for doneness at the 30 minute mark but not a minute earlier. My oven required an additional couple of minutes.
10. Remove the pan from the oven. Insert a sharp knife into the top of each popover. Immediately remove from the pan.
11. Serve immediately with the strawberry butter.
Strawberry Butter
1. In a medium sized bowl, beat the butter until creamy (about 2 minutes).
2. Add in the confectionary sugar and Kosher salt. Beat until incorporated.
3. Add in the strawberry preserves. Mix until blended.
4. Let the strawberry butter chill for at least 30 minute in the refrigerator. Note: You can make the strawberry butter several days ahead. Remove from the refrigerator when you begin baking the popovers to soften it up and make it easier for spreading.
Notes: (1) I used a 128g per cup measurement for the all-purpose flour for this recipe because I used Gold Medal Unbleached All-Purpose Flour. If you are using a different flour, use a weight measurement of 180g. (2) I used a popover pan but you can also use a muffin tin. Fill the well of the hot, prepared muffin tins a little more than half full. You should use up all of your batter, but if not, pour whatever is left evenly into each well. (3) If you have only one six well popover pan and you are serving 2-4 people, you can cut the recipe in half.