The Biggest Fattest Fluffiest Popover Recipe (2024)

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The biggest fattest fluffiest popover recipe you’ll ever find. These popovers are light and airy, CRAZY easy to make (like you actually won’t believe it), and are probably my very favorite vehicle for butter.

The Biggest Fattest Fluffiest Popover Recipe (1)

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THIS is a bucket list recipe! I have always wanted to make popovers. So I decided to try my hand at making you the biggest fattest fluffiest popover recipe, and I DID IT.

When I made the Biggest Fattest Fluffiest All Butter Biscuits, you guys went a little bit nuts about ’em. I mean really, what’s better than big ‘ol fluffy carbs? I am with you on that. Giant Cinnamon Rolls were also a hit. This popover recipe is right there in the realm of giant delicious carbs that will make people think you are some kind of baking phenom, but popovers are UNCOMPLICATED. I promise.

This recipe is also a little bit dear to my heart. There’s a story attached. Haters of food blog stories feel free to scroll on down.

Anyway. I’ve been wanting to make popovers FOREVER. They are eggy and intriguing. The insides pull apart in thin, almost spongy layers like magic. They fluff up like nobody’s business. And they are probably my most favorite vehicle for butter and homemade blackberry jam.

The Biggest Fattest Fluffiest Popover Recipe (2)

The Story.

When I was a kid we would drive to southern Illinois to visit my grandparents a few times a year. I loved those trips, and recently made the drive again with my mom. I still love a good road trip, though this most recent one was much less chaotic than the trips of my youth, where my parents would load up a station wagon full of children and dogs, drive all night, and inevitably lose a suitcase somewhere in Indiana.

Anyway, while in Illinois, my dad would always pick a day to drive across the river to St. Louis to visit his brother. Since I’m the oldest kid, he’d take me with him.

Those trips always felt a tiny bit magical. We’d go to the fanciest shopping mall to get a Christmas present for my mom that we definitely COULD NOT afford. (my dad was ever an optimist)

We’d go to the St. Louis Museum of Art and wander for HOURS. I still get goosebumps when I see a painting by Monet.

And on every trip, we’d go to the Zodiac, the restaurant at the top of Neiman Marcus, and eat the biggest, fattest, fluffiest popovers with strawberry butter, in a sea of white table cloths and crystal wine glasses.

It was the fanciest thing I’d ever experienced.

To fully appreciate this story though, we need to talk about how outside the norm all of this was.

My mom was a waitress. And as soon as I was of age, I was, too. My dad worked in sales – mostly car dealerships – and was always trying to catch a break. JUST ONE MORE CAR to hit the sales goal and actually bring home a paycheck. Both of my parents worked crazy long hours and we had zero fancy things. Most days we had just enough groceries for that one day. We always had enough, but just barely.

So going to art museums, and eating in fancy restaurants, and buying gifts that my dad would probably be paying off for the entire rest of the year – it all felt so extraordinary.

That’s what popovers are for me. Completely extraordinary.

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Making Big Fat Fluffy Popovers is EASY

The thing of it is though, they are NOT extraordinary to make! Popovers require just a few pantry staples.

  • eggs
  • milk
  • salt
  • flour
  • butter

THAT’S IT!

Hopefully you have most of these things on hand pretty much any day of the week. If you DO need to run out and buy these ingredients though, none will waste away never to be used again like that spice you bought that one time for that thing you found on Pinterest.

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Tools Required

You DO need a couple of tools to make this recipe successful, though, and that’s as fancy as we will get.

  1. A good whisk
  2. this popover pan

Now listen. I am not usually one to tell you to go out and buy a thing. Here at Sugar Dish Me the goal is always easy and requiring just what you have on hand. And you CAN make popovers using a regular muffin tin. But they won’t be the biggest fattest fluffiest popovers.

For the popovers to be sky-high, you’ll want the pan. Trust.

Elbow Grease

Is that a thing people still say? I feel like it’s a grandma phrase. But this recipe calls for some serious whisking, so get your arm muscles ready. Also why is it called elbow grease when your elbow does none of the actual work ?

Whatever you call it, you are gonna wanna get ready to stir.

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Bake, Serve, EAT WARM

Whether you are using the recommended popover pan or you are going with a muffin tin, you are going to bake the popovers on higher heat for 20 minutes and then reduce the heat for the last little bit of baking.

In my humble opinion, popovers are best served warm. Carb-lover that I am, I will definitely not turn down a room-temperature baked good, just so we are clear about that. But these big fat fluffy popovers smeared with soft butter and / or sweet jam, will bring you like next-level breakfast-brunch happiness.

Eat Popovers With …

  • I love this cranberry butter, especially in cranberry season! Frozen cranberries work well, too
  • Bacon Butter! YEP. There’s a scone recipe here, too. But bacon butter is as amazing as it sounds.
  • soft butter and a sprinkle of kosher salt. YOU CAN’T BEAT IT.

Other Favorite Big Fat Fluffy Recipes

Does it get any better than fluffy frosted Lofthouse Cut Out Cookies at Christmas? Really these cut out cookies are great any time of year – swap out those cookie cutters and get to decorating.
Homemade Fluffy Pancake Mix is a long-time reader favorite! This tried and true quick mix for pancakes makes mornings easy.

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Yield: makes 6 BIG Popovers

The Biggest Fattest Fluffiest Popover Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

The Biggest Fattest Fluffiest Popover Recipe is SO easy! Just a few pantry staples and a really great pan turn out the biggest, fattest, fluffiest popovers ever!

Ingredients

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

  1. Warm the eggs by placing them UN-CRACKED in a medium bowl and cover with hot water (as hot as your tap will go). Let them sit for 10 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 450°F and move the oven rack to a low position (to prepare for huge popovers!). Grease the popover pan thoroughly inside each cup as well as around the top edges.
  3. With your whisk, beat together the eggs, milk and salt until they are combined. The yolks should be completely blended in.
  4. Add the flour and whisk until the mixture is frothy and all large lumps are gone. Then quickly stir in the melted butter.
  5. Divide the batter between the prepared popover cups. They should be about 3/4 of the way full.
  6. Bake the popovers for 20 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350°F. Bake for another 10 or 15 minutes. The popovers will be very golden brown.
  7. My preference is to serve immediately and enjoy them warm!

Notes

  • You can mix your popovers up with a blender! Learn how here.
  • Do not top off the cups! ONE POUR to 3/4 full. Topping off can prevent a full rise.
  • If you can help it DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN!
  • If your popovers are getting dark too quickly, you can move one of your oven racks up to the top and place a baking sheet on it to shield your popovers from the direct heating elements.
  • This recipe is based on the popover recipe at King Arthur Flour. I love King Arthur as a resource for recipes, but I also LOVE their products.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 244Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 144mgSodium: 390mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 10g

The Biggest Fattest Fluffiest Popover Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes popovers puff up? ›

The container forms the steam released in the oven heat into one giant bubble. This steam is contained with gluten from flour proteins, starch, and protein from eggs. So the popover literally 'pops' with steam, but the steam doesn't escape because the stretchy protein holds it inside the batter.

How to make popovers rise more? ›

Because popovers rely on steam to rise — as opposed to baking powder, baking soda, or yeast — you want your batter warm when entering the oven. This King Arthur Flour article says it best: “The warmer your batter going into the oven, the more quickly it'll produce steam: simple as that.”

Why are my popovers not fluffy? ›

If you open the oven door the temperature inside can drop too quickly and the popovers will not rise properly. Whip the batter up really airy right before you add it to the pan they'll rise extra high.

What are the biggest causes of popover failures? ›

Preheating your oven to the correct temperature is probably the most important thing you can do to ensure popover success. The hotter your oven, the higher your popovers will rise. Which makes sense: the faster liquid in the batter turns into steam, the more chance your popover has to expand before its crust sets.

What are two reasons for the failure of popovers to pop? ›

Until last night…
  • Preheat your popover pan.
  • NEVER open the oven door while baking.
  • Use room temperature ingredients.
  • Use the freshest eggs possible.
Jun 22, 2016

Should popover batter rest overnight? ›

Let the Batter Rest

3) Allow the batter to sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking or, preferably. cover and refrigerate it for 24 up to 48 hours. Allow it to come to room temperature.

What is the secret to making popovers? ›

Making perfectly puffed popovers is all about creating steam in the batter as soon as they go in the oven. First is having the ingredients at room temperature and then resting the batter to allow the flour to take up the moisture from the egg and milk so that the steam can be created quickly once in the oven.

Why do popover batters contain so much liquid? ›

Basic popovers are made with eggs, milk, and flour. The batter is thin enough to be pourable, about as thick as heavy cream. The high proportion of liquid in the batter creates steam that causes the popovers to puff up like the popover pictured below. The conversion of the liquid in the batter to steam is dramatic.

Should popover batter be refrigerated? ›

You can make the batter ahead of time and bake the popovers the next day or prepare a batch start to finish and freeze them for later or keep a few on your counter. Check out the tips below to keep your popovers fresh. To make ahead: You can make the batter and refrigerate it for up to one day before baking.

How to prevent popovers from deflating? ›

An additional trick for keeping popovers crisp is to gently poke a hole in the side of each one with a sharp knife when you remove it from the pan to allow extra team to escape without deflating the crust dome.

Are popovers fattening? ›

One popover is 126 calories, 4 g of fat (1 gram saturated fat) and is 3 points.

Is it necessary to poke the popover when it comes out of the oven? ›

Remove from oven:

Popovers lose their crunch if they linger in the pan, so turn them out on a wire rack immediately and poke a small opening in the side of each with a paring knife to let the steam escape.

What happens to an underbaked popover? ›

If your popovers lose volume when they come out of the oven, they are probably underbaked. When these airy baked goods aren't cooked enough, too much steam stays trapped inside. That moisture condenses once they're removed from the oven, causing them to collapse.

What country invented popovers? ›

Popovers -- being traditionally an American invention in contrast to the French crepes and British Yorkshire pudding, which is again from essentially the same batter -- have traditionally been baked in heavy cast-iron pans.

What country did popovers originate from? ›

History. The popover is an American version of Yorkshire pudding and similar batter puddings made in England since the 17th century, The oldest known reference to popovers dates to 1850. The first cookbook to print a recipe for popovers was in 1876.

What makes baked goods puff up? ›

A leavening agent is a substance that causes dough to expand by releasing gas once mixed with liquid, acid or heat. Rising agents give baked goods optimal volume, texture and crumb and can include baking soda or baking powder, whipped egg whites or cream, active or instant dry yeast, and even steam.

Why do my popovers always deflate? ›

This steam helps them puff up beautifully when baking, but if the bread is removed before the steam has time to cook out it will condense again. This is why you see popovers fall even after you think they're done. So to keep your popovers standing tall, just give them a little extra time in the oven.

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