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The BEST Popover Recipe EVER

If you have never had a popover, you have not lived.  There’s this place we go every time we’re in Maine called the Jordan Pond House, and they introduced me to the glory that is a popover many years ago.  I’m sure I’ve posted pictures of my kids chowing down on them during past vacations.  Oh here we go.

popover-collage

As you can see, no one is immune to the charm of the popover, not even my picky eaters.

We love popovers so much that one year when we were in Maine, my mom bought a popover pan (it’s like a muffin tin but bigger) and we tried to make them.  We tried several recipes, but it was one big popover fail after another.  We even researched popover tips and tricks online, and no matter what we did, we could NOT make a decent popover.  And it’s not like there is much variation among recipes — there are only 4 basic ingredients (milk, eggs, flour and salt.)

I came home and tried them on my own a few times, but it was all for naught and I finally gave up.

THEN.

I was in NYC a couple of weeks ago dining at BLT Prime, and I turned around to find the waiter behind me with a plate full of gorgeous, steaming hot popovers.  I immediately asked the waiter if he would come home with me and serve fresh popovers at every meal, and like magic, he reached into the basket and pulled out a little card with the recipe inside.

blt-popovers

I snatched it and promptly placed it in a very safe place so that I could be sure to try and recreate them at home.

They were every bit as delectable as their popover cousins in Maine but with a little twist that I quickly discovered upon inspecting the recipe to be Gruyere cheese.  BE STILL MY BEATING HEART.  Popovers AND Gruyere?  A match made in heaven!

I was determined to try making them at home, but I didn’t have high hopes for my popovers.  After all, the popover and I have a rather rocky history.

But determined to try, I set out earlier tonight to give the recipe a whirl.

I dutifully read through the directions and set out my ingredients.

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I warmed 4 cups of milk on the stove and whisked 8 eggs until they were foamy.

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Actually, my son was “bored” so I put him to work:

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We combined the milk and eggs and set the bowl aside while we grated a block of Gruyere.

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And sifted the flour and the salt together.

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Then we combined it all and ladled it into muffin tins.  (I don’t have a popover pan.)  And placed the shredded Gruyere on top.

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After 50 minutes in the oven, LOOK what they became:

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We dove in the second they hit the counter and didn’t come up for air until the pan was gone.  (The recipe made two pans of popovers, by the way, so we have plenty left for breakfast tomorrow.)

They were DELICIOUS.  The real deal.  Everything I had hoped and more.  Now I don’t have to go back to Maine or New York City to get a decent popover.  Of course, this may not be such good news for my waistline.

Want the recipe?  I figured you would.

popover-recipe

Popovers
Author: Jo-Lynne Shane
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 4 cups milk, warmed
  • 8 eggs
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1-1/2 heaping Tbsp salt
  • 2-1/4 cups grated Gruyere cheese
Instructions
  1. Place the popover pan in the oven. Heat the oven and pan to 350 degrees.
  2. Gently warm the milk over low heat and set aside.
  3. Whisk the eggs until frothy and slowly whisk in the milk (so as not to cook the eggs). Set the mixture aside.
  4. Sift the flour with the salt. Slowly add this dry mixture and gently combine until mostly smooth. Once combined, remove the popover pan from the oven and grease LIBERALLY — the top as well as inside the cups. While the batter is still slightly warm or room temp (definitely not cool), fill each popover cup 3/4 full. Top each popover with approximately 2 Tbsp of the grated Gruyere.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, rotating pan half a turn after 15 minutes of baking. Remove from the oven, remove from the pan and serve immediately.
Notes
I don’t see any reason why the Gruyere couldn’t be optional.  If you don’t have any and/or don’t want to break the bank to buy some, try the recipe without and let me know how it turns out.

Join The Conversation

53 Responses

  1. I am only about a four hour drive so let me know the next time you make them. I’ll drive fast. REAL FAST…

    1. You’ll have to fly to beat this gang. They made quick work of them. 😉 The good news is, it makes so many that there were leftovers for breakfast. They were almost as good as last night after 3 minutes in the toaster oven.

  2. Yum. Can’t wait to try this recipe. We love popovers so much and, like you, I’ve tried a lot of recipes. I have 2 popover pans that make 8 popovers each. I wonder if this recipe will fill both pans? I’ll give it a try and let you know.

  3. Ok next time you are in Maine let me know! I live 30 min. from the Jordan Pond House AND my hubby grew up in Bar Harbor so I’m there ALL the time visiting family!! Would love to meet up & have a popover! DELISH!!! (By the way I grew up 15 min from there and I still have not-to this day- had a Jordan Pond Popover *gasp!* the horror!)

    1. Mmmmmm. Still remember the lobster bisque and popover brunch at the Jordan Pondhouse from my trip to Acadia. Extra popovers only $1 each.

  4. I am not sure I can wait to make these this weekend – I may have to try them tonight! They look amazing.

    You mentioned they made two pans – did the ones you saved still taste good or do they loose their shape and get mushy overnight?

    1. They were almost as good this morning. 🙂 I popped them in the toaster for a couple minutes and they crisped right up.

  5. I have only had popovers one time. It was at brunch. Are they usually served for bfast and brunch ~ or ~ with dinner, as well?

    These sound wonderful!

  6. Oh.My.Word. I have such great memories of having popovers when I was a kid and I’m not sure I’ve ever made them for my kids! *hangs head in shame*

    I am printing this and I think Saturday will be THE day for this yummy-ness!

  7. My popovers don’t look anything like this at all – they taste okay, but I’ll have to give these a shot.

  8. oh what memories…my mom used to make popovers when I was growing up and I remember them to be SO yummy! I haven’t thought of them in years. I might just have to give this a try with my family.
    Thanks for sharing! I found you through Tasty Tuesday.

  9. Oh yum! I’ve always wanted to make popovers, but never have…I’ve never eaten one and just figured they were airy biscuits, but judging from they drool in this post they are MUCH more than that! 🙂 I’m going to have to give this a try.:)

  10. GASP!

    Okay, you wanna hear my new quick mom dinner?

    Break a dozen eggs, mix in a little milk, salt & pepper. Pour in a Pam’ed corning ware. Bake in a 350 oven until it starts to set – about 10 min.

    Pull it out and stir it. Add whatever is in your fridge – our faves are salsa and cheese. You could add black beans, tomatoes, bacon, ham, whatever. Stir it up. Pop it back in.

    Pull out and stir every 5-6 min till you can tell it is done, it will be like a fluffy custard. VOILA. Dinner is ready.

    Cheap easy and quick and my kids, who are not huge egg fans, LOVE it.

  11. Thank you so much for posting the recipe and doing a test drive. I frantically looked for the recipe card when I got home from NY and was so sad that I lost it. I’m making these for brunch this weekend for sure! Yum!

  12. Um, how have we not chatted about Maine? We go EVERY summer. I think I’ve missed 3 since my birth-year. We must chat about this.

    And, yum. Looks easy, too. Definitely going to try this recipe. And, since I’ve already “broken Passover”, I may cook these pretty quickly.

    1. SERIOUSLY!? Where in Maine do you go? My mom grew up there, so we went back every year when I was a kid. I don’t think I ever missed a summer till last year, when we skipped it. I can’t wait to get back up there this year.

      1. We have a family cabin in the Belegrade Lakes. I skipped last year, too, because of Little. Can’t wait to go back. We’re thinking 4th of July week this year. Total relaxation.

        We usually drive up and spend the night sleeping in the parking lot at LLBean (24 hour CLEAN bathrooms). We like to head to Booth Bay for a day but, pretty much spend the rest of the vacation relaxing on the lake. Ahhh. This year we’re going longer than usual and may go hiking or explore a beach area. CAN. NOT. WAIT.

        1. That’s the week we’re going to! We stay at a lake up near Bangor/Brewer. We do a lot of day trips – we love Castine, Bar Harbor, and lots more.

  13. These look amazing. Thanks for sharing. My son has a dairy allergy so I will make them with soymilk – and hope they turn out as well – will let you know!

  14. OH MY GOODNESS!!! Thank you thank you thank you. i have had a similar love relationship with popovers and a hate relationship with the ones I make. I was recently watching Food Network and it was that show “The Best Thing I ever ate”. Tyler Florence went to BLT and raved about the popovers….I was drooling. Then he says…..”they give you the recipe” So I dutifully search online to find it since I will not be making it from KY to NYC anytime soon. I found nothing. Then I found you!!! Thank you, thank you. I love your blog by the way.

  15. Thank you for posting this recipe! I saw it on “Best Thing I Ever Ate” last night on food network, and wanted to try it so badly.

  16. OMG! Thank you for posting the recipe. I just saw them on the food network’s Best Thing I Ever Ate, and we have to make them. Right now!!!!!!!! I’ll let you know how they turn out.
    Thank you again!!!
    xx

  17. Just to be clear, the recipe card says 6 eggs, right? I made these according to your recipe and they didn’t turn out. I think it’s because you wrote 8 eggs in the recipe. Could you clarify please?

  18. I’m making these right now! They SMELL AND LOOK AMAZING already, and they’ve still got 28 minutes left! How will I be able to stand the wait?!
    I used Very Sharp Cheddar instead of gruyere, since gruyere is a bit pricey for me at the moment, and the chowhound boards recommended using another very sharp cheese as a substitute.
    I can’t wait until they’re finished! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this wonderful recipe!

  19. They. Were. INCREDIBLE. My in-laws and hubby had 2 or 3 each, and the whole time they were eating the popovers, they were coming up with ways to dress them up in the future.
    *bite* “Ooh! This would be great to dip in pot pie filling!” *bite* “You know what would be great with this?! Bacon!” *bite* “Ham!” *bite* “Chicken salad!” *bite* “Cream cheese!” etc, etc.

    When they first came out of the oven, I had my fingers crossed. I tried to follow the recipe to the T. (Besides the cheese.) And BOY did it ever pay off! The first bite is crispy with the flavors of the toasted cheese, then the second bite takes you closer to the center, juuust giving you a taste of what’s to come…. THEN. THEN. The third bite that brings you to the holy grail, the middle. Where warm, soft, fluffy, bread meets the crispy cheese, with just a little bit of gooey melted cheese hidden inside. OH MAN. Oh man, oh man, oh man.

    These were the first popovers that I have ever had in my entire life. (24 here.) AND I MADE THEM. AND THEY WERE FANTASTIC.
    Thank you again. Many happy and tasty memories were made this night.

  20. I’ve been to Acadia about 8 times over the summers with my family and just this past summer did we venture to Jordan Pond House. We should have discovered it earlier, because the entire menu is surprisingly delectable. The popovers were to die for with butter and jam 🙂 Glad yours finally worked out.

  21. These are very yummy! Mine didn’t ‘pop’ up as much planned but they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

    I think they are very salty for sweet things (although they would be ok for stew and anything savoury) so I will use less salt next time. 🙂

    Thanks.

  22. Here’s what I found. Have all the ingredients warm flour eggs milk butter. Put it all in a blender (easier than whisking, hey I’m older and lazy!). The explode in the oven. I had them on the bottom rack and they expanded to the top rack! Very lite and fluffy!

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