Why would anyone want to post a recipe for Yorkshire pudding?

Yes even someone from Yorkshire, England?

The truth is that very very few people have tasted the real thing. I was once invited out to dinner in, (when I was at Uni) London (37 years ago) and, in honor of the fact that their guest was a Yorkshire man, they served Yorkshire pudding. Now this was in the days before you could go down to the supermarket and buy frozen Yorkshire puddings. AND THEY ARE HORRIBLE TOO.

The pudding I was served was made with self raising flour (this is where I have problems because British flour names and American flour names are different. But we will get there - trust me, I'm a Limey). So the first thing to understand is that, in a true Yorkshire pudding, the raising agent is eggs, not baking powder, not baking soda not bicarbonate of soda just EGGS.

So when I talk about flour I mean a flour with NOTHING added. I think it may be what the US calls all-purpose flour. We call it plain flour, not bread flour, not cake flour, just flour. If you make it with flour that contains raising agents, what happens is, it hits a ridiculously hot oven and goes up. It then gets so light it just collapses and what you have is a mess of dough (cooked dough, but still a mess of dough. That is what happened to me with my London meal.

The only other thing to mention is that the Yorkshire pudding was actually first cooked in France in the 17th century not in Yorkshire. We only perfected it.

Right let's start.

Firstly. Throw away your scales. This is real cooking. I will use one measure to start it but use your initiative.

Take a cup (more or less) of plain flour (see above).

Mix in a large egg (the larger the better).

Your batter mix should now be stiff (but have no, or little dry flour).

Add small amounts of milk, mixing, and when loose enough, beating all the time until the mixture is like good quality cream. Now beat until no lumps are left. (This sounds like hard work but actually takes well under 5 minutes).

Leave in the refrigerator for at least half an hour, preferably 1-3 hours. (Remember NOTHING is exact).

20 minutes before you want to cook pre-heat the oven to very nearly as hot as it will go. (In the UK most of us cook on gas which has a maximum of gas mark 9. I do this on 8. I think in the US most people use electricity so just go nearly to the top.)Again NOTHING is critical, just make sure it is very hot.

Pour about a good teaspoonful of vegetable or peanut oil into each section of, well, we call them tart tins, but I understand that in the US a tart is something completely different. Muffin pans maybe? If you are stuck I will email you a picture - LOL.

When the oven is up to temperature (10-15 minutes?) put your pan in to pre-heat to very very hot (about another 10-15 minutes).

THE OIL SHOULD BE SMOKING.

Just before the oil is hot enough beat ANOTHER large egg into the batter mix. (I suggest you remove it from the fridge first.)

When the oil is smoking, remove it CAREFULLY from the oven and pour enough batter into each section to fill it without the oil overflowing. It should sizzle slightly as the batter hits the oil. (This mixture should do about 12 puddings).

Return it to the oven (CAREFULLY) and cook for about 15 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR BEFORE THAT. Have a look and what you should have is genuine Pudding a la Yorkshire which should look like this:



if they need longer give them longer.

The traditional way to eat it is of course with roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetables of your choice, horseradish sauce and gravy but it's also good with pork (with apple sauce) lamb (with mint sauce), even sausages (toad in the hole) or as a sweet dish similar to pancakes. i.e. syrup, strawberry or rapberry jelly (jam if you are British). Oh come on, use your imagination. Savory dishes should always have gravy, sweet dishes never.

One final word. When I was a child just after WWII in the 1950s my father (not my mother) used to make the Yorkshire puddings. We used to be told 'Whoever eats most Yorkshire pudding gets most meat.' So we used to gorge ourselves. Of course, we still had rationing and meat was expensive and limited. So sated on pudding we wanted very little meat. But believe me, if properly made this GENUINE Yorkshire pudding is to die for. Try it.

P.S. To freeze, no problem. Just let them go cold in the cooking tray before putting in a bag.

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I am told that one day my brain will grow and grow. I'm looking forward to being a half wit.

No Manda. They definitely aren't bread. They are more like a very light, fluffy pancake. Puddings here can also be creamy things you have for dessert also they can be spongy things which you have for desert or rice things which you have for dessert.

We too have 'dinner rolls' which are just bread in a fancy shape. We also have the famous puddings of Scotland. Haggis (Great chieftain of the pudding race as Rabbie Burns put it) which is made from all sorts of horrible minced sheep innards with oatmeal but actually tastes quite nice. White pudding which is mainly oatmeal and fat and the famous Lancashire (Yorkshire's main rival) delicacy - black pudding, which is congealed pig's blood solidified with fat and herbs and eaten with eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomato etc. for breakfast.

At least in Yorkshire we have a more civilized county pudding.

Don't worry about the name pudding. You could Google it and get some history of Yorkshire pudding. Or you could put your worries behind you and make some and try them with strawberry jelly to begin with (not to begin the meal - that mixture is a dessert). Then get adventurous and try some savory puddings.

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I am told that one day my brain will grow and grow. I'm looking forward to being a half wit.

These sound very good! I will have to go to Faye's to have some!

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All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

thanks for the recipe. i might try them one of these years... in the meantime, loz, tell faye to heat up her oven next time i'm coming up

I think I'll pass on the haggis! The thought that I used to eat and like Black Pudding when I was a kid is enough for me!

I tried tapioca too Thornius but somehow it just wasn't right with the roast beef and gravy - and haggis wasn't too good with syrup.

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I am told that one day my brain will grow and grow. I'm looking forward to being a half wit.

Hi Faye. I never believed that the Wars of the Roses finished in 1485 at Bosworth Field or even at Stoke in 1487. Us Yorkies will never, ever be civilized.

Anyway, I quite like black pudding considering what it is made of. I simply say that, in common with haggis and pease pudding (blimey I've introduced another one that no one Stateside will have heard of) that it isn't all that brilliant with jam (jelly).

But be careful. I may just take up your invite next time I'm over there.

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I am told that one day my brain will grow and grow. I'm looking forward to being a half wit.