Yorkshire pudding

The most traditional pudding in the United Kingdom, deeply rooted in old-fashioned English cooking and loved by almost everyone. It is served hot as part of a classic Sunday roast, always with rich gravy, alongside roast beef, crispy roast potatoes and roasted vegetables. I have yet to meet anyone in Britain who doesn’t love a Sunday roast – my children fell in love with it too. Yorkshire pudding, an essential part of the traditional Sunday dinner, can be bought in almost every shop in the UK. However, it is incredibly easy to make at home and requires no special equipment. All you need is a whisk and a muffin tin, and the recipe itself is very quick. It is made from simple ingredients: eggs, milk and flour. The traditional English method suggests using equal volumes of eggs, milk and flour (first measure the eggs, then add the same volume of milk and flour). My version is slightly thinner, similar in consistency to double cream, which helps the puddings rise beautifully in the oven and form neat little “cups” that are perfect for holding delicious gravy.

Yorkshire pudding is so strongly associated with savoury meals in Britain that many people cannot imagine it served as a dessert. Even now, some are surprised when I say I love it in a sweet version – dusted with icing sugar, drizzled with syrup, served with fruit or even a scoop of ice cream and chocolate sauce. It reminds me a little of a Dutch baby pancake, and I simply can’t resist it.

Makes 20 small puddings or 12 large ones.

Ingredients for Yorkshire pudding:

• 170 g plain flour
• 4 large eggs
• 200 ml milk
• a pinch of salt and pepper (omit pepper for the sweet version)
• rapeseed oil or lard, for baking

Sift the flour into a bowl and add the eggs. Whisk until smooth and free of lumps. Pour in the milk, add the salt and whisk again until combined. Chill the batter in the fridge for 1–2 hours, or leave it at room temperature (resting the batter helps the puddings rise better, though they can also be baked immediately).

Preheat the oven to 210°C. Place about 1 teaspoon of oil into each cup of a standard muffin tin. Put the tin into the oven for about 10 minutes to heat the oil thoroughly (but do not let it smoke). The oil is ready when the batter sizzles as it touches it. Carefully remove the hot tin from the oven. Pour the batter into each cup to about one fifth of the height for smaller puddings, or over halfway for large ones. Immediately return the tin to the oven.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until the Yorkshire puddings have well risen and are deeply golden. Do not open the oven door during baking, as this may cause them to collapse. Serve immediately.

If making smaller puddings, repeat the process with the remaining batter to bake another batch.

Enjoy!