We were eating Sunday lunch, and enjoying some roast beef and Yorkshire puddings, when the brainwave came to me. Yorkshire Puddings shouldn’t be just served as a savory side, when they have the potential to be the best dessert ever. A small spoonful of sugar would transform these crispy Sunday treats into a decadent sweet pastry. I knew I couldn’t have been the first one to come up with this magic idea, so I did some research and looked up ‘sweet Yorkshire puddings’. It turns out that Yorkshire puddings are called Popovers in America. Who knew! Popovers are served as both a sweet and savory dish – genius. They can be served with everything from eggs to ice-cream.
For this recipe, I adapted a classic Delia Smith recipe to make the Yorkshires and added a little sugar. Then instead of savory gravy and creamy potatoes, I served them with a silky chocolate, orange ganache and vanilla ice-cream. Whatever you want to call them Yorkshire Puddings / Yorkies / Popovers, these are one seriously good dessert – not just for Sundays either. They are best served warm, straight from the oven.
Ingredients
Makes 6
Yorkshire Puddings
- 2 tablespoons of oil (vegetable /peanut oil work best- olive oil is too strongly flavored)
- 75g of all-purpose flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- 75ml of milk
- 55ml of water
- 25g of sugar
Chocolate Orange Ganache
- 50g of dark chocolate
- 60mls of double cream
- Zest of half an orange, finely grated
- 2 teaspoons of Cointreau
Method
- To make the Yorkshire puddings first preheat the oven to 425 F/ 220 C.
- Divide the oil among six compartments of a muffin/ cupcake tray.
- Sieve the flour into a large bowl.
- Add the egg, and beat well using an electric beaters/ whisk.
- Gradually add the milk, water and sugar, beating well with each addition.
- Continue beating together until you have a smooth batter, the consistency of thin cream. It should only take a few minutes with electric beaters.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 6 oiled compartments of the muffin/cupcake tin.
- Place the puddings in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
- As the puddings are cooking, you have time to make the ganache.
- Melt the chocolate along with the cream in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water on a low heat.
- Once the chocolate has melted, add the orange zest and Cointreau.
- Take the sauce off the heat, but leave it in the bowl over the hot water, as this will keep it warm until you are ready to serve.
- As soon as the Yorkshire puddings are golden and crispy, remove them from the oven.
- Serve the Yorkshire Puddings on a serving dish with the hot ganache sauce and some vanilla ice-cream.
