Popover pans and childhood baking adventures

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Aug 11th 2007 @ 10:27PM

a six-cup popover pan on a wooden cutting board

I quickly stopped into my favorite thrift store earlier this afternoon and found an assortment of treasures. The best among the haul was a six-cup non-stick popover pan. I've wanted a popover pan ever since a brunch at a friend's house a few months ago and discovered how hollow and high popovers can get when baked in a pan designed expressly for them.

When I was seven years old, I was given a cookbook called "For Good Measure: A Cookbook for Children." I loved this book and would pore over it, reading and re-reading the recipes for Hopscotch Scones, Brownies and Old Time Strawberry Jam. My favorite recipe, and the one I made over and over again on Saturday mornings for my babysitter and younger sister, was for popovers. On my last trip out to Portland, I went through most of my childhood books, packing up the ones I wanted to keep and getting rid of the rest. This first cookbook of mine went into the keep pile. It's a little musty from years of storage in my parents' garage and there are a couple of pages that are stuck together, but I still love it. You can find the popover recipe after the jump.

Popovers from "For Good Measure"

Because it was designed for kids, this is a fairly basic recipe. There are others that require warmed milk, melted butter and the use of a blender. This one always seemed to turn out pretty well, but I admit that it's been about 20 years since I made it.

1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt

Crack egg into bowl. Add milk and beat with eggbeater (I always used a whisk) until blended. Add flour and salt and stir with wooden spoon. Try to get some of the lumps out, but don't worry if there are a few left. Pour batter into greased muffin tins, half full and place in cold over. Turn to 450 and bake for 30 minutes. Don't peek. Makes 4.

Filed Under: Cooking With Kids, Ingredients, Methods
Tags: america, baking, breakfast, comfort food, cooking for kids, popover pan, popovers

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-12-2007 @9:02AM Louisa said... oh i love popovers! if anyone lives in new york city, the popover cafe on the upper west side has amazing homemade popovers and fresh strawberry butter...it's a great spot for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
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8-12-2007 @5:34PM Allison said... Marisa, always enjoy your submissions. As an ardent foodie, cookbook collector, but alas, also an anal-compulsive editor, I'm hoping you actually "pored" over your cookbook rather than "poured" -- or no wonder it smells a little musty and some pages are stuck together.
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8-12-2007 @6:57PM Marion in Savannah said... I don't know about non-stick popover pans. I was raised (starting 61 years ago) by a woman who made simply amazing popovers in cast iron muffin pans. It always amazed me as a child how such a small amount of batter could turn into such a BIG popover. MMMM... crispy on the outside, moist on the inside.... I'm drooling just remembering them!
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8-13-2007 @1:26PM Fran said... I make popovers in pyrex custard cups, like my great-aunt Clemma always did at her "camp" up in the Adirondacks. My family has never had good luck with any sort of popover pan. I got my custard cups at a church rummage sale, and I could use a couple more, for when I have visitors!
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9-26-2007 @10:56PM Michelle said... I did a fun Science In The Kitchen class this week with a group of 8 and 9 year olds. We made popovers and talked about why popovers "pop". One of the students told me he went home and made them for his family's dinner right afterwards :-)

I wrote a recipe and the explanation on my blog:
http://whatscookingblog.wordpress.com/2007/09/25/science-in-the-kitchen/

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