Mornings are tough. But they can get better, fast. There is always a bowl of cold cereal and some strawberries to fall back on, and fall back on them, we do. But one has to break up the monotony somehow, and some mornings are more special than others, and deserve to have the oven turned on. Breakfast popovers are worth it!

A popover is a light airy bun with a moist chewy interior that is made in a muffin or a popover tin. It puffs up significantly as it bakes and the batter becomes chewy and form on the outside, with a hollow tender interior.

How Are Popovers Different Than Yorkshire Pudding?

Popovers are similar to Yorkshire pudding in that both are made with an egg-based batter, and have a similar texture. Both are crusty on the exterior, and somewhat hollow inside, with the batter becoming tender and springy beneath the outer crust.

However, Yorkshire pudding uses dripping from roasting beef, while popovers do not. Yorkshire pudding is also often baked in a roasted or baking pan, sometimes the very one that the accompanying meat was roasted in. The edges of Yorkshire pudding puff up, while the middle remains dense and eggy. Popovers puff up more evenly, in more of a muffin shape, and are individual portion size.

Perfect Popovers: Light, fluffy, and airy popovers take about 7 minutes to get into the pan, and are a hell of a way to start the day.

Popover Pans

If you are a popover fan you may want to make the small investment in a popover pan. A popover pan has cups that are narrower and taller than regular muffin tins, with straighter sides. This shape allows the popovers to puff up more dramatically. They come in 6 cup versions, as well as 12 cups. You can simply double this recipe if you want to make 12!

Popover Tips

• Make sure the milk and eggs are at room temperature before starting. If you need to rush things along, you can do two things. Warm the milk slightly in the microwave until it reaches room temp. And submerge the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before you crack them
• Do not open the oven until the popovers are fully baked! After the popovers bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, lower the oven temp to 350 degrees without opening the door, and continue baking for another 15 to 20 minutes until you can see that they have risen and turned golden brown.
• Cooked popovers can be simply split and buttered, or are great served with soups, and can be filled with stews or drizzled with gravies or sauces.

How to Make Popovers

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Grease 6 muffin tins, or 6 popover tins.

In a medium bowl beat the eggs until blended with a whisk. Add the milk and blend well.

Add the flour and salt and beat until the batter is just blended.

Pour the batter into the popover or muffin tins filling them 3/4 full.

Bake the popovers without opening the oven for 15 minutes, then (don’t open that oven! ) lower the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking the popovers for another 15 to 20 minutes or until they are puffed , hollow inside, and a rich golden brown.

Serve warm, with jelly or jam and butter.