Have you ever spent a rainy Sunday perfecting your Yorkshire pudding recipe?
If the answer is no, please don't fret. I've done the hard work for you.
This weekend I wanted to make a Sunday roast and, according to my family, a Sunday roast simply has to contain a Yorkshire pudding.
So, as the rain hammered against the windows and my audiobook played in the background, I embarked on my voyage of discovery.
Batch one.
I pulled them from the oven and... well, they were flat. Very flat. More pudding than Yorkshire pudding. They tasted fine, but light and fluffy they most definitely were not.
Back to the drawing board.
Batch two.
Success! They rose. In fact, they rose rather too enthusiastically and got far too close to the top of the oven.
They were beautifully light and fluffy inside... and burnt to a crisp on top.
So, just like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, it all came down to the third attempt.
Batch three was just right.
Golden, crisp, beautifully risen and fluffy inside. An actual, proper Yorkshire pudding!
So here is the recipe I followed. Thanks to Jamie Oliver and his wonderfully simple Amazing Yorkies recipe, my family finally got to enjoy a beautiful Yorkshire pudding with their Sunday roast.
And in case you're wondering whether batches one and two went to waste...
Not a chance.
The pudding-like ones have gone into the freezer. I have a feeling they might reappear one day warmed through, spread with jam and with hot custard poured over the top. Quite frankly, that sounds rather good.
As for the burnt ones?
I'll turn them upside down, cover them liberally in gravy and hope nobody notices the slightly blackened tops have mysteriously become slightly blackened bottoms.
Waste not, want not.
And perhaps there is a little lesson amongst all those eggs, flour and burnt Yorkshire puddings. We don't always get things right the first time. Sometimes we don't even get them right the second time.
But that doesn't mean we can't do it.
Sometimes we just need to adjust things a little, have another go and see what happens.
And occasionally, the third batch is just right.
Happy making xx
Ingredients
Makes approximately 12 Yorkshire puddings.
- 2 large eggs
- 100g plain flour
- 100ml milk
- Vegetable oil
- A pinch of salt and pepper
Method
Preheat your oven to 225°C/425°F/gas 9.
Put a small amount of vegetable oil into each hole of a 12-hole muffin or Yorkshire pudding tin, then place the tin into the oven for around 10–15 minutes. You want both the tin and the oil really hot before the batter goes anywhere near it.
Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them well.
Add the flour and whisk again until everything is combined and reasonably smooth.
Gradually add the milk, continuing to whisk until you have a lovely smooth batter. Season with a little salt and pepper.
When the oil is properly hot, carefully remove the tin from the oven.
Working quite quickly, divide the batter between the 12 holes. You should hear that lovely little sizzle as the batter hits the hot oil.
Put the tin straight back into the oven and cook for around 12–15 minutes, until your Yorkshire puddings have risen dramatically and are beautifully golden and crisp.
And whatever you do…
Don't open the oven door to have a peek!
Leave them alone and let them do their thing.
Before you go.
There was something rather lovely about spending a wet Sunday afternoon doing something so completely ordinary. An audiobook playing, rain against the windows, Sunday dinner cooking and three increasingly successful batches of Yorkshire puddings.
Nothing extraordinary. Just one of those small, comforting moments of home.
And perhaps that's worth celebrating too.
So, if there's something you've tried before that didn't quite work, maybe give it another go.
Until next time, Paula xx www.tenaciouswellness.co.uk