Popovers Cooks Illustrated Food

BASIC POPOVERS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Grease a 6-cup popover pan with the 1 teaspoon of butter.
• Combine the 1 tablespoon of butter, the flour, salt, eggs and milk in a food processor or blender and process for 30 seconds.
• Divide the batter evenly among the cups of the popover pan, filling each one-third to one-half full. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 40 minutes, taking care not to open the oven door. Remove the popovers to a cooling rack and pierce each one in the top with a knife to allow steam to escape. Serve warm.

POPOVERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Generously grease aluminum popover pans or Pyrex custard cups with softened butter. You'll need enough pans to make 12 popovers. Place the pans in the oven for exactly 2 minutes to preheat. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, salt, eggs, milk, and melted butter until smooth. The batter will be thin. Fill the popover pans less than half full and bake for exactly 30 minutes. Do not peek.

POPOVERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a nonstick, standard 12 muffin tin and place in the oven to heat while you prepare the batter.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and melted butter until blended. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and use a whisk to mix them together. Fill each hole in the muffin tin between 2/3 and 3/4 full. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake until they develop a nice brown color, an additional 15 minutes; they should feel crusty. Opening the oven door while popovers bake increases the chances they will deflate so look through the window but don't give in to temptation!
• Remove the tin from the oven and turn the popovers out onto a flat surface to cool. Pierce the sides with the tip of a small knife to allow steam to escape as they cool. Serve immediately.

PERFECT POPOVERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450-degrees F.
• Grease a 6-cup popover pan (or use muffin tins)--very important to grease pan very well. I don't think Pam is good enough - I used both Pam and butter to grease the tins.
• In a mixing bowl or large measuring cup whisk together flour and salt.
• In another mixing bowl or large measuring cup (I used a 2-cup measuring cup), whisk milk and eggs together until blended.
• Add egg/milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring well with a whisk. (If you use the large mesuring cup (mine was 4-cups) it is very easy to pour into the popover tins.).
• Pour batter into the prepared popover cups.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR WHILE POPOVERS ARE COOKING.
• Reduce heat to 350-degrees F and bake 20 minutes more.
• Serve immediately.

CHEF JOHN'S POPOVERS

Steps:

• Grease a 6-tin muffin pan with butter and cooking spray.
• Whisk eggs, milk, flour, salt, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl until smooth. Pour batter into each muffin tin, filling to about 3/4 of the way up the sides. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of grated Cheddar cheese atop each popover.
• Place pan in a cold oven. Heat to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) and bake until puffed and well-browned, about 30 minutes.

POPOVERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle a teaspoon or so of melted butter in each cup of a 12-cup muffin pan or a popover tin and put it in oven while you make batter.
• Beat together the eggs, milk, 1 tablespoon butter, sugar and salt. Beat in the flour a little bit at a time and add thyme if using; mixture should be smooth.
• Carefully remove muffin tin from oven and fill each cup about halfway. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 15 minutes more, or until popovers are puffed and browned. Do not check popovers until they have baked for a total of 30 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and serve hot.

POPOVERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease and flour six 6-ounce custard cups.
• In a medium bowl beat eggs slightly, Beat in flour, milk and salt until just smooth; being careful not to overbeat. Fill custard cups 1/2 full.
• Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for 20 minutes more. Immediately remove from cups and serve piping hot.

PERFECT POPOVERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a popover tin.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and 1 tablespoon melted butter. Pour over flour mixture, and fold until just blended.
• Fill the popover cups two-thirds to three-quarters full.
• Transfer tin to oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees, and bake until well browned and crusty, about 20 minutes. Remove popovers from the oven, and unmold onto a rack. Puncture the sides with a sharp knife to let steam escape, and serve immediately.

TRADITIONAL POPOVERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Spray a popover pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place pan on center rack of oven and preheat for 2 minutes.
• Blend flour, salt, eggs, milk, and melted butter until it looks like heavy cream, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Cut chilled butter into 6 even pieces. Place 1 piece of butter in each cup and place pan back in oven until butter is bubbly (about 1 minute).
• Fill each cup half full with batter and bake 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes.

POPOVERS

Steps:

• If eggs and milk are cold, before combining, submerge whole eggs in warm water 10 minutes and heat milk until just warm. Preheat oven to 450 degrees with a nonstick popover pan on rack in lowest position.
• After you have combined eggs and milk in a large bowl, whisk together until very frothy. This should only take about 1 minute. Have the flour and salt measured out and ready to go.
• Add flour and salt to egg mixture. We tested out a blender and an electric stand mixer when making the batter, but concluded that whisking by hand produces the most tender, airy popovers.
• Whisk flour and salt into egg mixture just until batter is the consistency of heavy cream with some small lumps remaining. See those air bubbles? They are what will cause the popovers to rise.
• Remove popover pan from oven and coat with cooking spray. If you prefer a standard muffin tin, only coat (and fill) the outer cups; they get better circulation in the oven. (Also, reduce baking time by 5 minutes.)
• Fill popover cups about three-quarters full with batter. Bake 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue to bake until golden brown and dry to the touch, about 20 minutes more.
• Popovers lose their crunch if they linger in the pan, so turn them out on a wire rack immediately and poke a small opening in the side of each with a paring knife to let the steam escape. Serve right away.

NEVER FAIL POPOVERS

Steps:

• Beat eggs slightly, add remaining ingredients, blend but don't worry about lumps.
• Refrigerate 1/2 hour.
• Grease generously 8 muffin cups.
• Fill each 3/4 full.
• Place pan in a cold oven.
• Turn temperature to 450°F Bake for 30 minutes.
• Don't open oven while their cooking or they fall.

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING'S POPOVERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. If using a popover tin with 6-ounce cups, grease 6 cups with 2 tablespoons butter. If using a muffin tin with cups 2 1/2 inches wide by 1 1/4 inches deep, grease 12 cups. With 6-ounce custard cups, grease 8 cups.
• In large bowl of mixer, beat eggs until frothy; beat in milk and remaining butter. Lower speed and beat in flour and salt.
• Divide batter among prepared cups. Bake 50 minutes; make slit in each to let out steam; bake 10 minutes more. Immediately remove from cups. Serve hot with butter.

POPOVERS

Steps:

• Into a bowl sift together the flour and the salt. In a small bowl whisk together the eggs and the milk. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring, and stir the batter until it is smooth. In a preheated 450°F. oven heat a six-cup popover pan or six 2/3-cup custard cups for 5 minutes, or until it is hot, brush the cups with the melted butter, and fill them half full with the batter. Bake the popovers in the middle of the 450°F. oven for 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 375°F., and bake the popovers for 20 minutes more, or until they are golden brown and crisp.