How to Make Yorkshire Puddings

There are some things I have to practise continually in life to be any good at. One of these things is learning how to make Yorkshire puddings, particularly for low-budget roasts! These can be tricky little gits to get right! Sometimes, they can burn. Occasionally they can rise and fall rapidly like flat, uninspiring pancakes. Other times, unfathomably, they can look cooked to perfection but be virtually uncooked on the inside letting down the perfect roast pork from my slow cooker.

How to make Yorkshire puddings

Okay, so here’s the basics… You’ll only need a simple list of ingredients to start with this essential roast-related task. Most of the ingredients you’ll likely have in your kitchen already, but if not, they can be obtained from most grocers and certainly all supermarkets.

You’ll need the following Yorkshire pudding ingredients:

• 150g plain flour
• 4 medium or 3 large eggs
• 210ml fresh milk (or use pea milk for a cow’s milk alternative)
• sunflower oil

The basic Yorkshire pudding recipe method:

1. Heat your oven to 220C/fan 200C, the fan is best. If you need to convert C to F for a non-UK oven, try our Celsius for Fahrenheit conversion tools.
2. Pour sunflower oil or rapeseed oil into a muffin tin evenly, don’t be stingy at this point. You want the oil to be nuclear-hot! Be careful.
3. To make the batter, empty all the plain flour into a bowl and enthusiastically beats the eggs in until smooth and silky.
4. Slowly add in the milk. Season with a little salt and pepper.
5. Continue mixing to ensure no lumps in the batter.
6. Pour the batter into a jug suitable for pouring.
7. Carefully remove the hot muffin tins from the oven. If they’re almost smoking, you’ve got them at a great temperature.
8. Evenly pour the batter into the holes.
9. Place the tins back in the oven and leave for 25 mins until the puddings have risen well. Do not, whatever you do, open the door until you’re ready to accept the resulting puddings.

How to make Yorkshire puddings without milk

My oldest little boy had some potential milk/lactose intolerances, so I looked into the alternatives for Yorkshire puddings and how they tasted. With all of these dairy alternative Yorkshire puddings, you can use the following method and swap out the milk of your choice. Do not use coconut milk for your Yokshires whatever you do – they taste foul!

Dairy-Free Yorkshire pudding ingredients and recipe:

• 200g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2 medium eggs
• 250ml soya milk, oat milk, almond milk, or cashew milk
• 50ml warm water
• generous amount of salt and pepper
• sunflower oil or rapeseed oil

Mix the batter in exactly the same way as you would a normal Yorkshire pudding recipe. Be careful to make sure there are no lumps and bumps. Then, once your tray is hot, follow the recipe above and use the same timings as before. Yet again, you cannot open the door during the cooking process or they will fall flat like pancakes. To make soya milk, oat milk, almond milk, or cashew milk work as a dairy-free alternative, rest the batter for 10 minutes before putting it into the muffin tins.

As a reference, I found almond milk to be the tastiest but I think it depends on the amount of salt and pepper that was added in.

 

How to make Yorkshire puddings without egg

The above recipe removed milk. This Yorkshire pudding recipe removes the egg and is by far the trickiest thing to do. The egg, by default, gives the Yorkshire pudding its colour and taste. Removing the egg can often make the Yorkshire pudding look anaemic and unappetising. However, this is what I’ve found to work best if an egg really is out of the question…

• 225g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 300ml almond milk (or the previous alternative mentioned)
• 100ml warm water
• ½ tsp salt and a sprinkling of pepper
• vegetable oil or sunflower oil

Use the same Yorkshire pudding method mentioned in earlier versions. It’s worth noting that these do not brown well and they often look as if they’re not cooked when they actually are. Aim for a golden yellow rather than the roast brown that you may associate with a traditional Yorkshire pudding.

How to make Yorkshire puddings rise high

There are a number of things you can try if your keys are rising to the height you would like. Whilst these techniques are generic, they don’t necessarily work with vegan options particularly well:

1. Make your oven as hot as possible and make sure the oil has been in long enough to heat up to its maximum temperature.
2. Try adjusting the balance of your ingredients. If there’s too much flour it may weigh down Yorkshire’s, so try reducing the amount of flour in the recipe you’re using.
3. Similarly, having too much milk will make the batter watery and loose. Due to the consistency, it won’t crisp up and hold its shape once it’s risen.
4. Ensure that you have mixed your batter thoroughly. If there are any lumps or bumps try sieving it and mixing again for a truly smooth mix.
5. You can experiment with different fats and oils but never use olive oil or butter. These do not achieve the desired temperature and have different burning points.
6. Only fill your muffin tins up to half full. Over this amount, will result in too much mixture in each individual muffin compartment.

How to make Yorkshire puddings like the celebs

There are particular flourishes and techniques some TV chefs and celebs use. Maybe using one of these can help you achieve the perfect Yorkshire pudding.

Yorkshire puddings Mary Berry Style – Mary Berry spoke was interviewed by Hello magazine recently about how flours have become more refined, so often she will get the best rise by adding more eggs and omitting a little milk.

Yorkshire puddings Jamie Oliver Style – Jamie, in contrast, takes the number of eggs down but uses large eggs.

Yorkshire puddings Delia Smith Style – Delia prefers a traditional recipe and uses beef dripping and a full roasting tin rather than individual muffin tins.

Why not try out some of my other recipes like my Ultimate Christmas Trifle, Homemade pasta or my low-cost mince pie recipe.