Every Sunday morning there are a lot of worried faces, both domestic and professional, staring through the glass doors of their ovens praying their Yorkshire puddings rise and are the pride and joy of the chef!
I thought I would share my recipe for these light, crispy delights which round off a Sunday lunch.
Over the years I have been told so many old wives tales by head chefs I've worked for from leaving every other hole empty in the tin so the heat can get all around the pudding cooking to whisking the egg whites to peaks and folding them into the mixture!
For me there's no real secret to the perfect Yorkshire pudding, just a little technique and practice. Good non stick trays, I use dome silicon trays. Not what they are intended for however they've never stuck for me! Just be careful when handling them as obviously they are hot and flexible.
Recipe - makes 8-10
150g Plain flour
150g Milk
170g Egg
Warm water
Vegetable oil for cooking
Method
Whisk the eggs and flour together to make a smooth mixture. Be sure to whisk all of the lumps out.
Gradually add the milk in three stages. Each time whisk the mixture until it is smooth again before adding more milk.
add an egg cup of warm water.
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and allow to rest for at least an hour. You can leave it longer if you wish. Give it a good whisk from time to time to keep incorporating air. Don't use a mixer for this, you have to do it by hand - they don't come out as well when you use a mixer, don't ask me why! It's annoying when you're making 100!
pre heat an oven to 220ºc with your tin inside. If you're using a silicon mould place it on a baking sheet.
add about 25ml of oil into each hole of the tray and pop it back in the oven for 10 minutes. It seems a lot of oil but you want to fry the mixture as you pour it in the tray.
Now this is where the practice comes in; check the consistency of your mixture, it needs to be just below single cream . It will be too thick at this stage as it tightens up whilst resting. Slowly add warm water to thin the mixture down.
Fill each hole to the brim with the mixture and carefully place the tray back in the oven and close the door slowly. Cook for 15 minutes. If you can fill the tray whilst it is in the oven. It's all about keeping the temperature in the tray and oil!
Flip each pudding over and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Remove and place on a cooling rack. I have a theory that if you put them on a plate etc they go flat and loose their crispiness; it turns out whilst writing this I have some of my own quirky do's and don'ts like the chefs I worked for as a young chef!
when you are ready to serve, pop them back in a preheated oven for 2-3 minutes to warm them up.
TIP - you need to be brave when adding the water just before cooking. If the mixture is too thick you won't get the hole in the top and the pudding will be slightly thicker and potentially not as crispy.