It's Raspberry Popover Day!
[I initially filmed this for Raspberry Popover Day, which occurs in May. I wasn’t ready to publish then, but I’m sharing now, because raspberries are still in season, so what not? I hope you enjoy!]
I am celebrating Raspberry Popover Day with a new-to-me pastry! I have made many Yorkshire Puddings in the past, but I have only made them savoury, like having it as a mop-up tool for a roast dinner. A raspberry popover is basically the same as a Yorkshire Pudding, which requires little more than flour, eggs, milk, butter and salt; add raspberries and sugar into the mix and you have yourself one delicious treat. These delicious bombs are usually baked in either special popover pans or muffin tins — and are aptly named for the way they poetically rise far beyond their pan while baking.
Just in time for the start of raspberry season (from May to August), this holiday offers an ideal opportunity to make this unusual (at least to me) dessert. With a bit of patience and a reliable recipe, making these little dudes is certainly within reach!
If you happen to have a great recipe for these, please proudly share your recipes with others! (I am sharing the ones I made below.) Get some great photos and show off the fruits (Ha! See what I did there?) of your labor and revel in the oohs and aahs.
Just a bit of nonsense history:
It’s written that the raspberry was first appreciated by the people of Troy, now modern-day Turkey. Records reveal that raspberry farming began as early as 4th century.
The popular tongue-and-mouth noise “raspberry” originated in England. Depending on the region, this sound is identified by different names. In English-speaking countries it’s commonly referred to as a raspberry, which has been used since 1890 and eventually shortened to ‘razz’ in America in the late 1910s. It was then called “The Bronx Cheer” from sometime around the 1920s onward. The term “raspberry” comes from British Cockney rhyming slang of “raspberry tart” for “fart”; that is, blowing air out of one’s mouth akin to passing gas!
Pax tibi
Maya
The world was her oyster, except she didn’t care for oysters. Better yet, the world was her raspberry. She liked raspberries.
Raspberry Popovers
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs, warmed in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes before cracking
- 1 ½ cups (240g) milk (skim, low-fat, or full-fat), lukewarm
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (120g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (43g) butter, melted
Sweet Butter (optional)
- 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2-3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F / 230°C. Position a rack on the lowest shelf. The top of the fully risen popovers should be about midway up the oven. What you don't want is for the tops of the popovers to be too close to the top of the oven, as they will burn.
- To make the popovers: Use a standard 12-cup metal muffin tin, one whose cups are close to 2 ½ in / 6.4cm wide and 1 ½ in / 2.5cm deep. If you are using a traditional popover pan, this recipe will make 6 standard popovers. Grease the pan thoroughly, covering the area between the cups as well as the cups themselves. Make sure the oven is up to temperature before you begin to make the popover batter.
- Use a wire whisk to beat together the eggs, milk, and salt. Whisk till the egg and milk are well combined, with no streaks of yolk showing.
- Add the flour all at once, and beat with a wire whisk till frothy; there shouldn't be any large lumps in the batter, but smaller lumps are fine. If you are using a stand mixer equipped with the whisk attachment, whisk at high speed for 20 seconds. Stop, scrape the sides of the bowl, and whisk for an additional 20 to 30 seconds at high speed, until frothy.
- Stir in the melted butter, combining quickly.
- If you are like me, I like to make the batter in a blender. Blend eggs, milk, and salt; add the flour, blending until smooth; then add the melted butter at the end, blending until frothy.
- Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about ⅔ to ¾ full.
- Make absolutely certain your oven is at 450°F / 230℃. Place the pan on the lower shelf of the oven.
- Bake the popovers for 20 minutes without opening the oven door. Reduce the heat to 350°F / 175℃ (again without opening the door), and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until they're a deep, golden brown. If the popovers seem to be browning too quickly, position an oven rack at the very top of the oven, and put a cookie sheet on it, to shield the popovers' tops from direct heat.
- To make the sweet butter: While the popovers are baking, prepare the sweet butter. In a small bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, add the butter, salt, and honey or maple syrup. Mix or beat until all the ingredients are combined.
- If you plan on serving the popovers immediately, remove them from the oven, and stick the tip of a knife into the top of each, to release steam and help prevent sogginess. Slip them out of the pan, and serve alongside the sweet butter.
- If you want the popovers to hold their shape longer without deflating and settling quite as much, bake them for an additional 5 minutes (for a total of 40 minutes) IF you can do so without them becoming too dark. This will make them a bit sturdier, and able to hold their "popped" shape a bit longer.
