General Chat

There seems to be a lot of differences in interpretation of the correct recipe for Yorkshire pudding, especially on cookery programmes on TV. So how do you make yours? Also, is it right to make little ones or one big one? Lets hear from you Yorkies.

Hi, I used to buy aunt bessies but out here I cant get them so I make them: 2 eggs all purpose flour (guess the amount) milk (another guess) pinch of salt and pepper I make them in the morning in a blender and every half hour give them a whirl. 40 ish mins before I need them cooking I spray muffin trays (dont have yorkie trays here either!) with a cooking oil, put in oven until hot and then poor in the mixture. OH says he wont let me buy frozen again when we come back to the UK as mine are so much better and they come out huge. Debs x

Hi Teresa I don't measure anything out really when I make mine so this is going to be a bit difficult! About 4 heaped tblsps of plain flour a pinch of salt 2 eggs (I find they rise better with 2!) Add milk until batter is quite thin (half a pint or more) It's best to leave the batter to stand for a good while before using it. Oven must be very hot......gas mark 8. Use solid fat to cook them with, such as lard. Oil doesn't work! Put the fat into your tins and leave in the oven til blue smoke starts pouring off them. If the smoke alarm goes off that sould be about right! lol. Don't keep opening the door of the oven when they are cooking or they will sink.

Jeanette, I've also found that oil doesn't work, but when OH makes them he uses oil because fat doesn't work for him!! I forgot to put my own, I only generally cook for two, so I use about a teacupful (guess) of plain flour, salt n pepper, 1 egg, enough milk to make a workable paste, beat until smooth, then add water until batter is right consistency. Make sure the oven, tin and fat is VERY hot, and don't have the shelf up high.

Jeanette, Isnt it funny how everybody does theirs differently? I have never used solid lard as im a veggie, and also the look of it makes me feel awful, I always use either olive oil or a cooking spray. My mil and sil also only use olive oil.. But I too never measure and they always come out perfect. Debs x

I was just thinking the same Debs! I see you use the spray oil which I have never tried. Will give it a go though. And Teresa's hubby uses oil too. When I did that they were utterly disgusting! lol. I sometimes use that solid veggie oil stuff that you can get.........forgotten what it's called!!!

Vegetable fat?

I never weigh out the ingredients plain flour 3 eggs milk+water mix to the consistancy of double cream whether using oil of hard fat always make sure that it's smoking before you put the batter in. Once in the oven don't open the door until cooked.

Jeanette, My sil also adds a touch of olive oil to the batter mix, but when I tried it they tasted awful. LOL Afraid out here (we are in the south! - If you know what I mean) they arent familiar with vegetarians yet, up until yesterday there was only 1 shop I knew of that I could buy veggie cheese from, yet in the UK about 80% of cheese is, unless its imported! Debs x

Teresa........didn't you know that's why vegetables aren't fattening. They've had all of the fat extracted for us to cook with! LOL. I know what I mean but I can't remember what it's called. Will ask daughter Debs.....a few years ago my sister, who is a veggie, went to Texas for 8 weeks training for her job. She knew there would probably be alot of steaks about, but thought there's be other stuff she could make do with. She ended up living on pizza for 2 months and came back the size of a house! LOL

To make one large one, or several small puddings 6oz plain flour 2 eggs one third milk+ two thirds water, mix untill smooth, consistancy about the same as cream, rest in fridge for half an hour, pre heated oven at 220c lard in pudding tray untill smoking hot. place the tray in the middle of the oven as they need room to rise. Roy

Seems to me the important thing is not the proportion of ingredients, but the consistency and the heat of the oven and tray. I have noticed everyone says use two eggs. I've always used one, but sometimes its a bit hit and miss. Maybe I will try 2. Off now to put the beef in LOL

Tv chefs keep saying that the best Yorkshire pud is made with about 9 eggs. Has anyone ever used that many eggs and achieved a good result? Louise

I saw that one Louise, and it didn't get a good response. I don't know how he imagined you could get a good pudding with that many eggs, must have been like stodge.

The only way to make a good pud is with beef dripping (sorry veggies) and the fat should be smoking when you put batter in.

Agreed Barbara. Beef dripping or nothing. Oil just doesn't work.

Delia Smith's recipe is the best I've ever tasted. They are better small in my opinion. My mother sometimes used to serve them as a dessert with a dollop of golden syrup - like a waffle, I supose, except that waffles were unheard of in Derbyshire in the 1960s. My husband's grandmother, from Whitby, always served them before the Sunday dinner, with gravy, but as a family with 11 children, this was a ruse to stretch out the meat, I think. Now I fancy some Yorkshire pud...

Ta for the tips, ladies. I've never been any good at Yorkshires, in fact I'm hopeless at making batter so I always delegate!

Hi All! Whoever says that Yorkshires can't be made with olive oil - they should have seen thone fantastic one I made this lunchtime! Well-risen and just the right crispness...... Agree that the 'oil' or whatever should be 'as hot as you dare' (think it was Delia who said this) and about 2/3 milk to water so quite alight batter results. I only use one egg, (+ an extra eggwhite if we have one over from mayonnaise), 4 heaped dessert spoons of PLAIN flour pinch salt enough milk + water to make light batter Nice to have a sensible debate on here! Allie x

Lesley, serving the pudding first is the proper way, probably serving the purpose you said, to help fill the family... Allie, I dont know how to tell you this... but where I grew up in Leeds using oil for the puds was considered ABOMINATION the vicar probably denounced it in church.......love Barbara......