Category: Sunday roasts

For anyone that believes Yorkshire puddings are only for roast beef. You’re wrong. No argument about it. Personally, I believe they belong on any plate where gravy is; the two are a match made in heaven. Bangers & mash and roast dinners – should ALWAYS be topped with a Yorkshire pud. Hawksmoor even have a whole dish dedicated to Yorkshire puddings and gravy – and I’d happily skip the steak for it.

But, there’s so many recipes out there – which is the best? How do you guarantee it’ll rise and have a perfect hole in the middle to catch the gravy? How can you compete with Aunt Bessie?

Easily. In my opinion, even if the shape doesn’t end up quite right, it’ll always be tastier than an Aunt Bessie’s. But here’s a recipe that’s fail proof for me, for getting that dreamy rise!

I actually fell upon this by mistake one Sunday – I cracked 2 eggs into a bowl and went to grab the milk, forgetting that I’d finished it the night before having a cuppa… but being too lazy to pop to the shops, I thought I’d compromise.

I hear you – Yorkshire puddings with no milk?! You’ll have to trust me.

With any Yorkshire pudding recipe – the trick is to always leave the mixture to rest for a few hours in the fridge before cooking it & to preheat your oil. A lot of the shape of the pudding comes from the cold mixture hitting the sizzling hot oil! (If the you don’t hear the sizzle – it’s not hot enough!)

Makes 6 large Yorkshire puddings

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

50ml double cream

100ml water

4 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp of vegetable oil

Method:

1. Start off by cracking and whisking the eggs in a jug (I use a large jug so it’s easier to pour the mixture, but a bowl is fine too!)
2. Then, add the cream & water and whisk together – you might want to add a pinch of salt here as it’ll help break the eggs down
3. Add the flour a tbsp at a time and whisk through (until you have a batter slightly thicker than pancake mixture)* – try and get as many of the lumps out as possible, but don’t worry too much as they’ll be broken down as it rests. Whisk for a couple of minutes to get plenty of air into the batter & season
4. Pop in the fridge for a minimum of 1hr – I usually leave mine for 4-5hrs
5. When ready to cook – preheat the oven to 220C and heat some oil in a Yorkshire pudding tin / muffin tin – when ready pour in the mix equally (REMEMBER: the oil needs to sizzle when you pour in the batter!)
6. Cook for 15-20 minutes – if they need longer, reduce the temp to 200C to stop the tops burning! You want them to be golden brown with a slight crunch on the top so you know they’re strong enough to hold their structure. Take them out too early and they’ll lose some of their height!

Enjoy with lashings and lashings of gravy!!

Top Tip: You need to work quickly when you take the preheated tin out of the oven to make sure the oil doesn’t cool – have the mixture ready and then pop them straight back in the oven. Don’t open the oven, ideally until they’re cooked completely, but for at least the first 15 minutes!

*I’ve never used a recipe / measured ingredients out for Yorkshire puddings before – for me I always go on what the batter looks like so add the flour slowly until you have your desired consistency! You want it thick enough so they hold they’re shape, but not too thick that they’re too heavy and dense to rise!