Mary Berry’s “foolproof and easy” Yorkshire puddings recipe is guaranteed to set you up for success.
Whipping up homemade Yorkshire puddings can be a bit of a challenge for those who haven’t quite got the hang of it yet.
The biggest issue home cooks face is opening the oven to find their Yorkshire puddings haven’t puffed up as hoped.
To get your Yorkshires reaching new heights, Mary has let slip her “secret” tweak to the ingredients and it’s a game-changer.
If you’re aiming to impress with flawless Yorkshire puddings alongside your succulent Sunday roast beef or perfectly cooked pork, Mary suggests playing around with the proportions of certain ingredients.
Yorkshire puddings rely on a basic batter, but altering the number of eggs can make all the difference.
Mary swears by “adding more eggs and taking out a bit of milk” in her own recipe, insisting that her “decades of experience” have taught her that this yields the best results.
When it comes to the type of milk, if all you’ve got is full-fat, just swap out a quarter of it for water.
Ingredients
100g plain flour
One quarter teaspoon salt
Three large eggs
225ml milk
Four tablespoons sunflower oil
Method
Kick things off by preheating your oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. In a bowl, mix together the flour and salt, then create a well in the middle.
Pop in the eggs and a splash of milk. Whisk until smooth, then slowly incorporate the rest of the milk and decant the batter into a jug.
Letting your Yorkshire pudding batter sit for a while is definitely a plus, “but not essential”, according to Mary.
Resting the batter before cooking is crucial because it allows the gluten to relax, resulting in more stretchy and better-rising Yorkshire puddings. Experts recommend letting your batter sit for at least 30 minutes, but two hours is ideal, and there’s no need to chill it.
Next up, get your oven trays ready. Pour a teaspoon of oil into each section of a 12-hole bun tray, a tablespoon for each section of a four-hole tin, or go for three tablespoons in a larger roasting tin.
Pop them in the oven until the oil is sizzling hot about five minutes should do the trick.
Mary emphasised the importance of heat, explaining: “It is very important to get the oil piping hot. As soon as the batter is poured in it will set and start to cook giving you crisp well-risen puds.”
Gently take the tray from the oven, and evenly dispense the batter into the compartments or tin.
Then swiftly get it back in the oven. Let those puds bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or if you’re using a roasting tin, give it a good 35 minutes, until they’re gloriously golden and have puffed up proudly.
If you’re planning ahead, Yorkshire puddings can be pre-made and re-warmed in a scorching oven for roughly eight minutes. They freeze brilliantly too just chuck them back in the oven from frozen for about 10 minutes when you’re ready for more.
