Yorkshire Pudding diary

[Maz]

I have never been any good at making Yorkshire puddings, so gave up years ago. I saw a picture online of amazing Yorkshire puddings and people were asking what recipe it was. Apparently it was Mary Berry’s recipe and she used three eggs. So I thought I’d try it in the mini oven.

This is my second attempt. The first attempt was a couple of weeks ago. They rose ok but were a bit soggy at the bottom (too thick).

This time I tried putting less batter in each hole. They look about the same but slightly smaller. I’ll update later as to whether they have thick soggy bottoms or not!

 

[Lovelyness]

Looking good I have to confess that in recent years I have bought frozen ones! I do make a roasted root vegetable toad in the hole tho which is pretty good

 

[Maz]

Yes we normally get frozen ones too. I had to get a smaller bun tin for the mini oven so thought I'd have a go at yorkshire puddings again Well the result was similar to last time. They are fine but slightly stodgy in places. They rose, they have air in them it's just as if parts are not quite cooked inside - but any longer and they'd be burnt outside. Anyway perfectly edible. Not sure I'll keep trying as it would take trying a number of times and varying different things each time - more or less liquid, more standing time, different oven temperature etc etc.

 

[Socks Mum]

They are notoriously tricky. They certainly look yummy!

 

[Maz]

Thank you. I think they look ok. And they were ok to eat as well. If slightly tasteless! I wonder what they put in the bought frozen ones.

 

[Zara]

These look good, must admit I kinda like mine with a thicker and more doughy bottom

 

[Maz]

Oh you'll be welcome any time then ha ha

 

[Wren the robo]

They look nice. You cant beat a Yorkshire pudding. I've made keto Yorkshire puddings before at a class I went to with my sister. (My nephew is on a medical ketogenic diet for epilepsy). We had a trained chef overlooking what we were doing though, lol.

 

[Wren the robo]

The oracle that is my husband the chef says that the oils not hot enough on the trays. Apparently you want to think that it's going to go on fire and that's it hot enough to put the batter in. Also he says that you can turn them over half way through so the other side crisps up on the oil. (He also said auntie Bs are good )

 

[Hank]

They look great and very tasty

 

[Maz]

The oracle that is my husband the chef says that the oils not hot enough on the trays. Apparently you want to think that it's going to go on fire and that's it hot enough to put the batter in. Also he says that you can turn them over half way through so the other side crisps up on the oil. (He also said auntie Bs are good )

Thank you. For my second attempt I went back to the old fashioned way and used lard! So I could heat it till it was smoking. However it never did get to smoking and the tin with fat was in the oven for a good 10 minutes! Have to say I was worried about causing a fire ha ha. It was on 210 degrees fan.

I'm partly suspecting non stick tins as well. Actually the second batch of six were slightly better - maybe because the tin and fat were well hot by then. But they don't have holes in the middle like yorkshire puddings normally do

I'm on a slight mission now to try and improve! Not sure why lol. Yes the Aunt Bessie's ones are good But sort of plasticky.

I also think I'd like to add more flavour to them somehow. Maybe pepper!

 

[Wren the robo]

Thank you. For my second attempt I went back to the old fashioned way and used lard! So I could heat it till it was smoking. However it never did get to smoking and the tin with fat was in the oven for a good 10 minutes! Have to say I was worried about causing a fire ha ha. It was on 210 degrees fan.

I'm partly suspecting non stick tins as well. Actually the second batch of six were slightly better - maybe because the tin and fat were well hot by then. But they don't have holes in the middle like yorkshire puddings normally do

I'm on a slight mission now to try and improve! Not sure why lol. Yes the Aunt Bessie's ones are good But sort of plasticky.

I also think I'd like to add more flavour to them somehow. Maybe pepper!

Sounds tasty.

 

[Maz]

Must be nice having a chef in the family

 

[Daisy]

Thank you. For my second attempt I went back to the old fashioned way and used lard! So I could heat it till it was smoking. However it never did get to smoking and the tin with fat was in the oven for a good 10 minutes! Have to say I was worried about causing a fire ha ha. It was on 210 degrees fan.

I'm partly suspecting non stick tins as well. Actually the second batch of six were slightly better - maybe because the tin and fat were well hot by then. But they don't have holes in the middle like yorkshire puddings normally do

I'm on a slight mission now to try and improve! Not sure why lol. Yes the Aunt Bessie's ones are good But sort of plasticky.

I also think I'd like to add more flavour to them somehow. Maybe pepper!

I'm not much good at batter either. I've made toad in the hole a couple of times but it tends to come out a bit dense at the bottom.

I wonder if the non sticks tin stop them rising properly? Maybe they need to stick to the sides a bit to get the hole in the middle.

Perhaps you could add rosemary to them. I did that with toad in the hole once and it came out nice aside from being a bit dense.

 

[Maz]

I thought that too Daisy - when I used to make them in the past it was in an old tin that wasn't non stick. But then plenty of reviews say theirs come out great in these non stick tins. They are rising ok just not quite cooked inside. Come to think of it, when we eat out, and get large perfect Yorkshire puddings served up, they are often a bit overdone on the outside - I wonder if that's the price to pay for having them fully cooked inside.

I think the oven needed to be hotter and them cook a bit quicker and hotter maybe. Ovens vary. Rosemary is a great idea

 

[Maz]

A bit more reading around and apparently metal tins do work better than non stick. And also complaints that the 3 eggs in the Mary Berry recipe make them more omeletty in the middle (might be why I thought they were a bit like that inside). And heating the fat for 20 to 30 minutes (not 10 minutes like I did).

I actually think a conventional oven might cook them better than a fan oven as well - different temperatures in different parts of the oven. But I don't have that option.

I have been unable to find a metal tin, would you believe, everything seems to be non stick these days!

But am now on a mission to do some better ones! My original recipe was one from my first boyfriend's Mother many years ago and only used one egg and no real quantities - kind of guesswork! ie just enough liquid till you got the right consistency (single cream consistency apparently) and leave it to stand for a very long time before cooking.

And apparently they don't need to have holes in the middle. So mine were ok apart from the slightly omeletty insides. Maybe needed a bit longer or hotter.

 

[Maz]

I've read around a bit and there are umpteen different recipes - some with 3 eggs, some with 2. But the Gordon Ramsay restaurant advice says the key is letting the batter stand for long enough and having the fat hot enough (as Wren's hubby said). I've seen a couple of places where they say wap the oven up on full to heat the oil. And don't use olive oil as it has a low smoking point.

I will probably go with - hotter oven for the fat next time, stick with lard, and try the 2 egg Gordon Ramsay recipe and stand the batter longer. When I get time! I didn't used to get great results with my boyfriend's Mum's recipe so need a new one that works for me.

 

[Socks Mum]

They are really nice to eat so I hope you crack them (excuse the pun)!

 

[Maz]

It's a totally unnecessary and time consuming thing to do but for some reason it's giving me some satisfaction They are quick and easy to make if I can get something I'm happy with, and I'm enjoying eating them.

So it's become a bit of a new hobby (as and when I get time). I'll keep you updated!

 

[Maz]

So the recipes I want to try are the Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, James Martin, some guy from youtube and Elaine Lemm from youtube. They are all slightly different. But I'm going with standing at room temperature (not the fridge like some places say). And will need to use the same tin, fat and oven to have a good comparison!

I also sent for a little book about Yorkshire puddings which is full of interesting facts. And just noticed that the author is the same Elaine Lemm (a lady from Yorkshire).

The book arrived today and here's an interesting snippet. Scientists worked out what was needed in Yorkshire puddings scientifically. The Royal Society of Chemistry actually had their own Yorkshire pudding recipe - which is virtually the same as the one my first boyfriend's Mother told me.

Strangely, my Mother and Grandmother and Aunt were all from Yorkshire and none of them ever made Yorkshire puddings from what I remember. Maybe my grandmother did at one time.

Also both Raffy and Tino had a tiny bit of plain yorkshire pudding the other day After all it's sugar free (although it did have a bit of salt in but not negligible for the size of piece they had).

It's this book