I've been experimenting for quite a few months now in pursuit of the perfect Yorkshire Pudding recipe, and I believed I had found it with Ben Cox's award-winning method.
However, the results of all my experiments have now been completely turned on their head by Grandma (Nick's Mum) this Sunday. Grandma took over the pudding making because we got a bit behind with our Sunday roast dinner schedule after taking too long on a demanding Sunday walk (more about that in another post) and we even ran out of flour, so she brought her own!
So, with the roast beef joint already cooked and resting, the roast potatoes just in the oven, and the veggies steaming in the steam oven, Grandma set about making a batch of last-minute puds.
When we visit her house for Sunday dinner her Yorkshire puddings are always fantastic, and I always ask her what is her recipe and method, and she just says that she just throws all the ingredients into the bowl, guessing the quantities "the old way"!
However, this time I got the chance to watch carefully, and I measured everything as she went along. There is no need to rest the batter mix. So, it can be prepared at the last minute and used immediately. Here is how she did it.
Ingredients
Makes 12 puddings
- 150 g plain flour (it must be Be-Ro she says!)
- 3 large fresh farm eggs (bought on our walk)
- 200 ml semi-skimmed milk
- sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon of salt
Method
- The roast should be out of the oven and resting and the oven temperature needs to be very hot, 230 degrees C, gas mark 8.
- Add 1 teaspoon of oil to each hole of a muffin or Yorkshire Pudding tin and place the tin in the oven at the same time as the roast potatoes, and heat until the oil is hot about 5 to 10 minutes before adding the batter mix.
For the Yorkshire Pudding batter mix:
- Add the flour and salt to a mixing bowl and combine (no need to sieve).
- Break the eggs into the bowl (no need to beat them first).
- Add half the milk, and beat everything together with a fork (it must be a fork, apparently, not a whisk!)
- Add the rest of the milk slowly beating as you go along to combine everything. There is no need to rest the batter mix - you can use immediately.
- Use a ladle to spoon your mix into each hole to come halfway up.
- Bake in the oven for approximately 20-25 mins, and no peaking before 20 minutes, after which keep your eye on them so that they don't burn.
As you can see from the main picture they rose beautifully, stayed crisp and didn't sink, and were delicious with beefy onion gravy.
What is Grandma's secret?
A very hot oven, Be-Ro flour, fresh eggs and using a fork to beat everything together. Give her method a try and let me know how it goes. Norah X