There are two schools of thought on Yorkshire puddings- those who prefer the small individual puff-balls of puddings that blow up to be the size of tennis balls, and the those who prefer the single monster big pudding that you slice up and serve. The big puddings rise just as well in the oven, but fall back flat once they’re out, leaving a fluffy and crisp edge, and a flat and dense middle. The big pudding thinkers prefer the contrast of light and fluffy at the edge, contrasting with the flat and dense in the middle. The small pudding thinkers just like the crisp lightness of the puffballs.
Personally, I sit in the middle- I like both. Although, I can’t stand the pre-made or Frozen yorkshires- they’re all dry, and lose their texture and elasticity. BTW- never use self raising flour to make these- the texture is all wrong. Yorkshire Puddings rise because when they go into a hot oven, a skin forms on the batter, and the middle bit boils up and needs to expand- so you end up with a big hollow space inside a crisp skin.
Rules of the Yorkshire Pudding:
- Put Yorkshires into the top of the hottest oven you can so they rise
- Pre-heat the dish, with the oil already in it
- Don’t pour the batter too thick into the dish- otherwise it all heats up too slowly and won’t puff up
- Don’t open the oven whilst they’re cooking, or it all goes flat.
The batter recipe:
3 eggs
115g/4oz Plain flour
275ml/½ pint milk
beef dripping if you have it, veg oil if you don’t
salt
Mix it all up so that you have a smooth batter, put into the pre-heated dish and slap into the oven.