Popovers: A Pastry Epiphany

The other night, I made dinner for the girls at Kristi’s house (of Kristi’s Eggs Benedict Casserole fame). She’s got a lovely kitchen with lots of space for things like large over-sized copper pots and pans and such. It’s a dreamy kitchen for baking and hanging out.

So my plan was to top off dinner with Banana Nut Muffins. But alas, I couldn’t find the muffin tin I needed. What I did find, however, was a popover pan.

A popover pan that led to a pastry epiphany.

I tasted a popover before … but never one straight out of the oven. Gracious.

The recipe is simple. The result is spectacular.

Light, warm and airy with a buttery crunch.

I’m sad to say, I did not practice my diet tip Half-zies … unless, of course, my original plan was to eat 6 popovers. In that case, I was a fabulous success!

Kudos to The Kithcn for supplying this recipe. For a first timer, it was easy and successful.

Easy Ethereal Popovers
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the pan
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat the oven to 450, and thoroughly grease the pan.

Melt the tablespoon of butter and set it aside to cool slightly.

Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk gently. Then stir in the flour, salt, milk and melted butter until just barely blended; a few lumps are fine. (Note: At this point, we threw in a handful of grated cheddar cheese just for fun. It proved to be a good choice!!)

Fill the cups 2/3 to 3/4 full, and bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350 and bake an additional 20 minutes. (No peeking! Opening the oven door in the first 20 minutes can cause them to collapse.)

When they are brown and crusty, remove them from the oven, and make a small slit in their sides with a sharp knife. Serve immediately, or return to turned-off oven. Makes 6 to 10 popovers.

Recipe by Nina Callaway.