Julia Child's Popovers A Classic Recipe Made Easy (2024)

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Popovers are a delightful treat, crispy on the outside and filled with air on the inside. Learn to make them at home. Julia Child recipe | classic cooking | popovers

Homemade Popovers based on Julia Child's classic recipe.

Julia Child's Popovers A Classic Recipe Made Easy (1)

I still remember the first time I had a popover at my mother's suggestion. The waiter brought me this giant muffin looking thing that was almost empty inside with a crust that was both crunchy and custard-y at the same time.

I was hooked.

I checked out a copy of Baking with Julia: Savor the Joys of Baking with America's Best Bakers (affiliate link) from the library and saw at least 10 recipes I wanted to make. But, I started with this one because the popover pan my mother had given me was buried in the back of the cabinet crying from neglect.

Yes, I have popover pan.

No, you do not need one.

Custard cups or muffin pans will work fine if you follow the directions below.

Tips for Making Julia Child's Popovers

There is no denying popovers can be tricky, I have failed more than once, especially when I haven't made them in awhile.

But, here are a few tips to help you achieve that beautiful pop with the empty middle:

  • have the eggs and milk at room temperature
  • do not overfill the cups
  • if using a muffin pan leave every other one empty
  • oven rack must be on the lowest possible position
  • slice with a sharp knife immediately after removing from the oven (Julia doesn't mention this, but....)

And remember, even if they aren't perfect, they are still delicious.

Julia Child's Popovers A Classic Recipe Made Easy (2)

Recipe

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole or 2% milk (room temperature)
  • 3 large eggs (room temperature)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Notes

The right pan is critical for these. If you do not have apopover pan(affiliate link) you can use every other cup of a 12 muffin pan (you'll want two) or ¾ cup capacity custard cups on a rimmed baking sheet with plenty of room in between

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Suzy Godfrey

    I don't believe I've ever had a popover! Thanks for hosting and have a great week!

    Reply

    • Audrey

      They used to be pretty popular, hopefully they will make a comeback.

    • Audrey

      It is exciting when they turn out the way they are supposed to.

  2. Treat and Trick

    Those popovers sound easy and yummy. I want to give this a try. Thanks for hosting too...

    Reply

  3. Ellen

    I make popovers every Christmas! Putting this recipe in my holiday folder.

    Reply

  4. Amy (Savory Moments)

    I've never made or eaten popovers! They've always intrigued me though and this is a great tutorial!

    Reply

  5. Erin Vasicek

    Even though I have a popover pan I have yet to make them!

    Reply

  6. Sydney Roussel

    The Neiman Marcus store is famous for their Popovers, their recipe
    has baking powder and says to let batter rest at room temperature
    for one hour. I am going to try this recipe," for the sake of argument".
    Julia Child is seldom wrong.

    Reply

  7. Elizabeth Brett

    Thank you! I lost my Julia Child books in a move and I've been desperate for this amazing recipe!

    Reply

    • Audrey

      oh no! THE HORROR! haha! I am glad I could fill the gap somewhat.

  8. Judy Wiest

    Help.....I love popovers but for the life of me they don't rise nice and high.
    Eggs and milk are room temperature, Have tried popover pan they just get too hard with no rise. I have baked them a little slower no luck there. I have used my muffin tins every other cup still no luck. Why o why are these soo hard to make?

    Reply

    • SuperBoy

      Hello Judy. They really are not difficult. It's so few ingredients you can almost NOT go wrong.
      It's important to grease the pan you use very well (can use a spray, too)
      Maybe you want to put your pan in the oven 10 minutes before puting batter in
      Be sure you start out with 450°oven & watch them rise -/+10-15, then DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN & cut the oven temp to 350-375° for another 10-15 minutes (usually it doesn't take very long, but you will see them Browning. YOU CAN DEFINITELY DO THESE🥳

    • Audrae

      All the recipes instructions are correct. To help myself even more, I’ve picked up the following tips—I preheat the greased pan and put a drop of cold butter right before I add the batter. I also let the batter sit out at room temp for at least 15 minutes, but no longer than 1 hour. They rise nice and high! Don’t forget to immediately put them on a cooling rack and cut them open with a sharp knife. This lets steam out so they stay crisp on the outside. Try again! It is so satisfying when you finally get them right!

  9. Thomas Gould

    How many popovers does this recipe make?

    Reply

    • Audrey

      It depends on what pan you use and how much batter you put in. There should be about 2 cups of batter overall, so that's 6 in a popover pan and about 8 in a muffin pan.

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Julia Child's Popovers A Classic Recipe Made Easy (2024)

FAQs

What makes a popover rise? ›

Steam is the engine that makes them rise — and rise, and rise! Thus it's important that your popover batter is very thin, signaling there's enough liquid to produce the requisite amount of steam necessary for perfect popping.

What is the difference between Yorkshire pudding and popovers? ›

Cooking fat: Yorkshire pudding is a dripping pudding, meaning that chefs traditionally make it using the meat drippings leftover from cooking a Sunday roast dinner. Meanwhile, popover recipes tend to call for butter instead. Yorkshire pudding batter, therefore, takes on a more savory flavor than popover batter.

Why do you have to let popover batter rest? ›

The resting period also makes the batter more velvety and helps allow air bubbles to release. This results in a lighter, more delicate popover.

What is the main leavening ingredient in popovers? ›

Because popovers rely on steam to rise — as opposed to baking powder, baking soda, or yeast — you want your batter warm when entering the oven. This King Arthur Flour article says it best: “The warmer your batter going into the oven, the more quickly it'll produce steam: simple as that.”

What is the secret to good popovers? ›

My biggest tip for creating perfect popovers is to use warm milk and room-temperature eggs with absolutely no chill on them. Do not take the milk and eggs from the fridge and use them. Cold ingredients will give you dense popovers. Warm ingredients will give you light, airy, and perfect popovers.

What are the biggest causes of popover failures? ›

Until last night…
  • Preheat your popover pan.
  • NEVER open the oven door while baking.
  • Use room temperature ingredients.
  • Use the freshest eggs possible.
Jun 22, 2016

Should popover batter be room temperature or cold? ›

Make the batter in a blender; make it with a whisk. Beat till smooth and frothy; leave some lumps. Everything should be at room temperature. Everything should be lukewarm.

What is the best flour to use for popovers? ›

Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour: The key to making these popovers super light and fluffy is to use bread flour. Bread flour contains a higher amount of protein than all-purpose flour, causing it to yield a much lighter and fluffier popover.

How to tell if a popover is done? ›

Now you can open the oven door and check the popovers. Finished popovers will be golden-brown, feel dry to the touch, and sound hollow when tapped. Prick with a Knife, Cool, and Eat!: Turn the popovers out onto a drying rack. Pierce the bottoms with a knife to allow steam to escape.

Why did my popovers not popover? ›

If you open the oven door the temperature inside can drop too quickly and the popovers will not rise properly. Whip the batter up really airy right before you add it to the pan they'll rise extra high.

What is the English name for popover? ›

The popover is an American version of Yorkshire pudding and similar batter puddings made in England since the 17th century, The oldest known reference to popovers dates to 1850.

How to prevent popovers from deflating? ›

An additional trick for keeping popovers crisp is to gently poke a hole in the side of each one with a sharp knife when you remove it from the pan to allow extra team to escape without deflating the crust dome.

How to keep popovers from falling? ›

Popovers are best served immediately. They will, unfortunately, begin to collapse after a few minutes outside of the oven. One way to help prevent this is to puncture the top and/or side of the popover with the tip of a small, sharp knife to help release some of the steam trapped inside.

Why won t my popovers pop over? ›

If you try to use cold ingredients, the popovers won't “pop” right and will be dense and heavy, instead of airy and majestic. Since the dish calls for only five ingredients – eggs, milk, butter, flour and salt - it's pretty simple to get them to room temperature with a little forethought.

Is it necessary to poke the popover when it comes out of the oven? ›

Remove from oven:

Popovers lose their crunch if they linger in the pan, so turn them out on a wire rack immediately and poke a small opening in the side of each with a paring knife to let the steam escape.

What makes rolls rise? ›

Bread rises because yeast eats sugar and burps carbon dioxide, which gets trapped by the bread's gluten. The more sugar your yeast eats, the more gas that gets formed, and the higher the bread rises!

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