Written by Lewis Woollard
From grannies to mums, from fathers to sons, we’ve all been there experiencing the good, the bad and the damn right disgusting Yorkshire Puds together.
Home cooks and chefs around the globe are constantly on the hunt for one vital recipe that has so many unique twists. The recipe for batter that has been about for many years, but you can never get right and the one batter that makes or breaks your Sunday lunch!
So what are you doing wrong? Should you be resting the mix in the fridge over night? Should you be greasing your tin with goose fat? Should you be using a dozen eggs for one side dish or is your oven just totally allergic to the idea of a great Yorkie? Believe me when I say, I’ve tried them all and certainly upset my foodie family many of times through my experimentation. But I can boast with great honor, I’ve finally got it nailed!
Before I get the recipe underway you should certainly take note of the things that prove essential when whipping your puddings to perfection. They are; a solid, high quality twelve-hole muffin tin for cooking and a hearty glug of hot gravy to dunk the beauty, to deliver the ultimate, classic combination.
Ingredients… (Makes 12 Sizeable Yorkshire Puddings)
225g Plain Flour
Pinch of Salt
4 Eggs
300ml of Milk (Preferably Whole)
Vegetable Oil
- Preheat your oven to Gas Mark seven or 220 Degrees and line each hole in your 12 Hole Muffin tin, with enough vegetable oil to cover the surface area. Place your greased tin into the bottom of the oven so the oil heats whilst you create the batter.
- To start your stairway to pudding heaven you must put your plain flour into a mixing bowl along with a generous pinch of salt, then create a small dip/well in the middle for when you add later ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, crack four eggs, then beat them until thoroughly combined. With these, you then pour them into the small dip you made in the dry ingredients a moment ago.
- Now grab your milk, measure out 150ml and pour into your mix in the bowl.
- With whisk in hand, whip up the ingredients until it forms a smooth batter texture, because if its still lumpy the final Yorkie will flop and you’ll only be left wishing you beat the batter a little bit more.
- Once lump free, you can add the final 150ml of milk to the mix and again whisk up to a creamy consistency. The final batter should resemble the same thickness of single cream, however if you’ve followed the recipe correctly, you can’t go wrong.
- Mixture done, you can set this aside for 30 minutes, covered by a sheet of kitchen paper or a tea towel. Normally if you were brewing a roast dinner, you’d have the chance to half cook your Roasties, which is what I usually do, then slot in the Puddings for the final half hour.
- After a waited rest, remove your hot-lined tin from the oven, then ladle the batter into each hole, filling as evenly as possible. Be sure to top up any that are looking less full than the others, as these will cook quicker and could burn.
- Slide the filled tin back in the oven, put your feet up, do the washing up (if you can be bothered) and wait for 25-30 minutes for the perfect puddings to be completed.
- Check them after 25 minutes because they may start to pose a brown color, and if they do, switch the oven down to the lowest heat giving the centre a chance to fluff up for the final five minutes.
- Remove the indulgent golden puffs from their hot metal tin, serve alongside your superlative Sunday lunch, dowsed in piping gravy and be the king or queen of your family kitchen for decades to come!
Timing’s are vital for nailing an unassailable roast dinner and note that any leftover puddings can be frozen and reheated at for another time.