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May 13, 2023

Popovers (Homemade)

These homemade popovers are crispy, puffy, light, airy, and custardy all at the same time. They're pretty magical and a baker's dream. 

Homemade popovers with butter and jam on a blue plate.


If you've never made popovers before, you need to give these a try. You don't even need a special pan to make them! 

I had never baked popovers until the first time I tried this recipe about ten years ago. In fact, I had never tasted popovers before. What was I thinking? These are a revelation. 

Popovers on black plates.


I made these in the morning for breakfast with butter and jam, but they would also make excellent dinner rolls with just butter along with beef tenderloin or even a bowl of soup for dipping. They are crisp on the outside and hollow and airy on the inside.

Ingredient Tips for Making Popovers:

Amazingly, there is no leavening in these popovers. All of the structure is provided by the flour and eggs. 

Flour: Be sure to use unbleached all purpose flour such as King Arthur. This is my AP flour of choice. It has the right amount of protein. In addition, I seriously recommend using a kitchen scale for measuring the flour so that the batter is at the right hydration (more later). 

Eggs and Milk: Both the eggs and milk should be at room temperature. 

Melted Butter and Salt: For traditional popovers, that's all you need. If you'd like to make Yorkshire pudding, just substitute beef pan drippings for the butter. 

Popovers with Butter and Jam on a blue plate.


As I mentioned, you don't need a special popover pan to make these. In fact, I've been resisting buying one for years. 

I mixed the ingredients in a blender and then baked them in buttered and then sprayed (I heard sticking is a big problem so I overcompensated - they did not stick) Pyrex custard cups I've had forever. You can use muffin pans as well.

Popovers on a cooling rack.


Tips for Making Popovers:

Popovers may seem scary to make, but they are crazy easy. Plus, it's fun to see about an inch of batter turn into a big airy puff of crispiness. 

First, the batter needs to be thin, even thinner than pancake batter. The hydration level is 250 percent liquid to flour. 

Make sure your milk and eggs are room temperature, and start with a very hot oven and don't open the door while the popovers are baking. Thank goodness for oven windows! For a while I was pretty sure they would not rise. But then poof! Success! Magic. 

If you make them in a muffin tin, be sure to space them out, using every other cavity, so that they have room to puff up. 

Some recipes recommend preheating your pan as well, but I did not preheat my custard cups. I just placed them on a sheet pan before baking. 

True confession time... right after putting this batch in the oven I realized I'd forgotten to add the melted butter to the batter. I dumped everything back into the blender along with the missing butter, resprayed the custard cups, and put the batter (with the butter blended in) back into the cups. They still turned out perfectly!

Leftovers:

Serve these popovers right away while they are still warm for maximum puffiness. If you have leftovers, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to thirty days. 

Reheat frozen (do not thaw) popovers in a 350 degree F oven for ten minutes. 

I've tried them fresh out of the oven, and then frozen and reheated, all in the interest of "science." They are still pretty darn wonderful reheated. I enjoyed mine with butter and preserves. Amazing. 

Popovers on a blue plate.


Popover Recipe Variations:

For a savory popover, you can add some herbs, black pepper, and/or some Parmesan cheese, kind of like gougères (French cheese puffs)

For sweet popovers, you can sprinkle them with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar once they emerge from the oven. 


Popovers on black plates.


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Popovers on a plate with butter and jam.


Homemade Popovers

Homemade Popovers
Yield: 8 popovers
Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 55 Min
These homemade popovers are crispy, puffy, light, airy, and custardy all at the same time. They're pretty magical and a baker's dream.

Ingredients

  • 5 ounces (1 cup) unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole or 2% milk, at room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • Butter and non-stick spray for the custard cups or pan

Instructions

  1. Position a rack on the lowest rung of the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF.
  2. Butter or spray eight ¾ cup glass custard cups or ten ½ cup muffin cups. For the custard cups, place them on a half-sheet pan. For the muffin pans, use two to give the popovers room in between for air circulation.
  3. Pour al the ingredients into the container of a blender, food processor, or with a hand mixer and mix until smooth. Strain if lumpy.
  4. For the custard cups, pour a scant 1/3 cup of batter into each cup, dividing any extra batter among the cups. For the muffin cups, use ¼ cup of batter for each cup, filling alternate cups in each tin.
  5. Bake, without opening door, for 25 minutes, until the popovers are puffed, browned, and crisp on the outside. Turn the oven down to 350ºF and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, to help dry out the interior, which will still be a little custardy.
  6. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

135.69

Fat (grams)

5.87 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

3.01 g

Carbs (grams)

15.1 g

Fiber (grams)

0.48 g

Net carbs

14.63 g

Sugar (grams)

1.59 g

Protein (grams)

5.22 g

Cholesterol (grams)

80.94 mg
popovers
baking, breakfast
American
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Adapted from Baking with Julia: Savor the Joys of Baking with America's Best Bakers - In Classic Julia Style, by Dorie Greenspan, published in 1996. 

This is an updated post, first published in August, 2012, when this site was new (see photo below). Updated May, 2023. 



Popovers on a table and on a rack with jam.




Would you like to comment?

  1. Totally agree! Why hadn't I tried making these before?!!

    Your popovers look yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Huge and golden, wonderful to slather with butter and jam!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So I give you a popover pan for your birthday and you give me on for my birthday. Now, it's a gift. It could work!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your popovers look great! (But they'd look even better in a popover pan. Just sayin'.) I should try freezing and reheating them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You have wonderful photos...love the lighting. superb.

    Carmen
    http://bakingismyzen.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/twd-baking-with-julia-popovers/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I took them outside during the "golden hour." Your popover photo is lovely. I took a peek.

      Delete
  6. This was a first for us as well, but certainly not the last! Your photos are beautiful. We ate the last two the next morning (covered in foil and left on the counter)with our eggs ~ lost their crispness, but still very tasty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Freezing them right away seems to preserve the crispness. The puffiness, not so much.

      Delete
  7. I love how easy this recipe was - never occurred to me to use the blender. Easier clean-up than previous methods I've tried, that's for sure. Glad to know you can freeze them, I have a few left over in the fridge and am debating what to do with them since we're kind of full of popovers for now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I froze mine right away, within an hour of making them, and then had one for breakfast each day. They were nice and crisp. And I loved the blender method.

      Delete
  8. You are such a trooper to try all in the name of science... Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gorgeous photos! Science, delicious science.

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  10. I LOVE popovers! They are so good with so many things.

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  11. Wait a minute - no popover pan needed? Where has this recipe been?!! I had a popover pan at one time and made popovers twice. Got rid of the pan. Now I can make them again using my muffin pan!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I agree that popovers are good for any meal! I do have popover pans but now I want to try some of the other options out of curiosity!

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  13. Popovers are so delicious! They're perfect for breakfast, dinner, and tea time!

    ReplyDelete

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