Popovers for brunch

Popovers are something of an American institution but are not so well known over here. We might think of them as Yorkshire puddings (which they technically are I suppose!) but in America they are eaten either as a sweet treat with butter and jam or for brunch as part of a cooked breakfast. The oldest known reference to a popover comes from 1850 and the earliest recipe appeared in a book called Practical Cooking by M. N. Henderson in 1876.

Today I treated our guests to popovers for breakfast, split and filled with creamed spinach and served with crispy smoked bacon and fried eggs.

 

I ordered the popover pan from American as they are very difficult to find in the UK. It worked brilliantly and it's non-stick.

 

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. My popover recipe involves whisking 1 1/2 cups of plain flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups of milk, whisking all the time. The batter will be a bit lumpy but that's fine. Then slowly whisk in 3 large eggs. I do all of this in a big measuring jug so I can then pour the batter into each of the popover cups. Fill them just over half way. The great thing is the the pan does not need to be preheated. Cook the popovers for about 30 minutes but remember they rise a lot so make sure you allow them room to expand in the oven. Cool for a minute when cooked then remove from the pan, slice with a serrated knife and fill with creamed spinach. They can of course be served with sweet fillings too or for afternoon tea, which I have yet to try.

Here's one popover filled with creamed spinach, served with crispy bacon and a fried egg. Delicious!

These local eggs come from rare breeds so they are all different colours. They look so pretty that I like to have them out on show.