Yorkshire Pudding

Yorkshire Pudding

The classic British roast accompaniment: a thin flour-and-egg batter that puffs into tall, crisp, hollow shells when baked in smoking-hot beef dripping. Best served straight from the oven alongside roast beef and plenty of gravy.

Prep

10 min

Cook

25 min

Total

35 min

Serves

6 (makes 12 individual puddings)

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •150 g (1¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
• •4 whole (4 large) eggs, room temperature
• •225 ml (1 cup (scant)) whole milk, full-fat, room temperature
• •60 g (¼ cup) beef dripping, or lard; clarified butter is a non-traditional substitute for a home kitchen without dripping
• •1 tsp fine salt
• •2 tbsp cold water, optional, to loosen batter if needed

Steps

1. 1 Make the batter at least 30 minutes ahead (traditionally rested 1 hour, or overnight in the fridge): whisk the eggs and salt until smooth, then beat in the flour a little at a time. Gradually whisk in the milk until you have a smooth, double-cream consistency. Stir in a splash of cold water only if the batter feels too thick. Cover and rest.
2. 2 Put a 12-hole muffin tin (or Yorkshire pudding trays) on the middle shelf of the oven. Add about 1 tsp (5 g / ⅕ oz) of beef dripping to each hole. Heat the oven to 220 °C / 425 °F (fan 200 °C / 400 °F) and let the tin heat in the oven for at least 10–15 minutes until the dripping is smoking hot.
3. 3 Working quickly and carefully, remove the tin from the oven. Give the rested batter one more whisk and immediately pour it into the hot holes, filling each roughly one-third full (about 60 ml / ¼ cup per hole).
4. 4 Return the tin to the oven straightaway. Do not open the door for at least 20 minutes — the puddings need a sealed, hot oven to rise and set. Bake 22–25 minutes total, until deeply golden brown, well puffed, crisp and hollow-sounding when tapped.
5. 5 Serve immediately on warmed plates; Yorkshire puddings deflate as they cool. They are done when the colour is a deep, even golden brown all over and a skewer inserted into the side comes out clean with no wet batter.