Yorkshire puddings

Yorkshire puddings, made at home.

Ingredients

45g plain flour

A pinch of salt

one egg

water and/ or milk

fat or oil for cooking

Add the flour, salt and egg to a mixing bowl and mix well. You can add other ingredients here – I often add black pepper or chilli flakes to add some interest to the puddings.

Add water or milk to make a batter. I’ve used water here because I like crispy puddings, you can add milk or 50/50 milk and water to get fluffier puddings if you prefer.

Allow the batter to rest for at least an hour, longer if possible. This gives the starches in the flour a chance to absorb all the moisture and gives you a smooth batter.

Pre-heat the oven to at least 220 °C, gas mark 8. Turn the fan off, if you can; this stops the puddings getting blown out of shape as they rise. Put fat or oil into a suitable dish and heat this through. I used beef fat here; I’d just roasted a beef joint and there was plenty of basting fat. Normally I use vegetable oil or peanut oil. The fat needs to be able to withstand high temperatures, so avoid olive oil.

Add the batter to the hot fat. Bake for 15 minutes – don’t open the oven! Our oven has a glass door, yours may not, but don’t peek or the puddings might collapse!

When they’re done, serve with your roast dinner.

You can also make huge Yorkshires and serve a dinner inside them. Or, once they’re cooled, some people like to have jam or honey on the puddings as a dessert.