This recipe will make approximately 15 ‘regular-sized’ Yorkshire Puddings (7cm diameter) or 30-40 smaller puddings (5cm diameter). Traditionally, Yorkie mix is made a day in advance but we think it’s just as tasty if it’s made an hour or two beforehand. The most important points here are that the oven is fully preheated and that oil is very hot.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Now put the flour in a large bowl and whisk to aerate. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together, then add them to the flour and whisk as much as you can. You probably won’t be able to whisk the mix until smooth at this stage, so gradually add the milk and keep whisking until you have a lump-free batter with a thin crepe batter consistency. It’s important to experiment to see what works best with your oven, however, generally speaking, the batter should be thinner than pouring cream to achieve light puddings. Whisk in the thyme and add salt to taste.
• When you’re ready to make the puddings, put your muffin tray onto a baking sheet – this will make everything easier to handle when hot. Place the tray in the oven for ten minutes. Remove and pour vegetable oil into the compartments of the tray until about 3mm deep. Sometimes it’s necessary to leave the two ‘middle’ compartments of the tray empty so that the puddings don’t cook into each other, but it’s possible that with your oven and/or batter you won’t need to. Place the tray in the oven for at least ten minutes – the oil should be very hot.
• Decant the pudding mix into a jug. Now, working quickly, remove the tray and sheet from the oven, place them on a worktop and start pouring the mix into each compartment. It should make an audible ‘sizzle’ when the batter hits the oil.
• Return the tray to the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes for ‘regular’ size puddings and about half the time for mini ones. An oven with a glass door is handy here – pay attention to the colour of the puddings. If the tops are golden and the middle is still light in colour, turn the oven down slightly and keep cooking. If the middles of the puddings are not crispy then they will collapse when removed. If it appears that they are not cooking evenly, you can remove them from the oven, carefully flip each pudding over and return to the oven as quickly as possible.
At the Pony and Trap, we make mini puddings and fill them with beef tartare and horseradish sauce as a snack or canapé. You could also stuff them with roast beef, fried mushrooms or even warm Welsh rarebit.