All Rise! Perfect Yorkshire Puddings Every Time

One of the most common complaints made by cooks is that their Yorkshires won't rise. Some customers at Blighty's put the blame squarely on Canadian flour. The solution, in their minds, is to use imported British flour. But Yorkshire Puddings are made all over the world mostly without the benefit of British flour. I made Yorkshire Puddings with Canadian all-purpose flour and they rose just nicely; here is how I did it.

Ingredients
Customer, friend and Yorkshireman Harry Daisley has a simple secret to good Yo'ksher puds; he calls it his "2, 2 and 2 rule".

• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 eggs, plus ...
• 1 tspn salt

You will also need a small quantity of oil or fat. Beef dripping is best but you can also use vegetable oil. Never use olive oil, butter or margarine, they burn at too low a temperature.

Preparation

• Using a stand mixer with a beater blade, thoroughly mix the eggs into the flour
• Add the salt and briefly mix again
• Add the milk slowly while mixing at low speed
• Increase the mixing speed to ensure a smooth, lump-free batter
• Set the batter to one side

• Pre-heat oven to 425F
• Place a small amount of oil or fat into the cups of a muffin pan and place into the oven until the fat is smoking hot. This stage is very important, do not rush it and make sure the fat is really smoking!
• Remove the muffin pan from the oven using oven gloves (it will be very hot)
• Pour batter into the muffin pan until the cups are no more than half full then return to the oven
• Watch in awe as your puddings rise and turn golden brown on the outside
• DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR TO CHECK ON YOUR PUDDINGS. Sorry for shouting, but if you open the oven door your Yorkshires will probably collapse

John's Notes

Serve your Yorkshire Puddings immediately with lashings of rich beef gravy. Yorkshire Puddings are traditionally eaten as a starter course, followed by roast beef as an entree (a belly filled with cheap Yorkshire Pud needs less of the costly roast beef). This idea came from the days when poor Yo'ksher folk struggled to feed their 17 kids who lived in a cardboard box in middle o' road. Of course, that wer' nowt, we had it tough ...