Popovers with Gruyère Cheese

Recipe from BLT Steak, New York, NY Bon Appétit September 2004
Husband Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Bob called to say that he was stopping by on his way into town to do errands. I had just made some simple soup using fresh summer vegetables and so we invited him for a quick casual lunch. He said "Yes" so enthusiastically that I decided I better dress up lunch with something special. Popovers are a cinch to make, but they really have a nice Wow factor. (I've finally figured out how to upload photos of my cooking onto my blog, so I snapped a photo of the popovers before we consumed them. I will attempt to take photos for the blog from now on. I think a picture really helps when deciding which recipe to attempt. Below is my original posting for these delicious popovers.)

I found this recipe to try for my first attempt at making popovers. They were absolutely perfect and huge when they came out of the oven. When perfectly cooked, popovers emerge with crispy brown exteriors and moist, almost hollow centers. I served these with Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Greens (Recipe on this blog.) I’ve found many recipes for popovers and I look forward to trying them all! You'll find all of the ingredients for these popovers at Lost River Market & Deli, including local eggs!
My parents gave me a popover pan for my birthday. Now, you may not have a popover pan, but this recipe can be made with muffin pans. My popover pan makes 6 large popovers, and when I made this recipe, I had some batter left over. If you use muffin pans, the recipe will make smaller popovers, but you’ll have more popovers. (I’ve included instructions for both type pans.) When making popovers, it’s important to use a pan that absorbs heat well. The batter needs a burst of heat to convert the moisture to steam, which causes the batter to expand and pop over the sides, you’ll need to preheat the pan(s) before spraying them with oil spray and filling with the batter.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
2 cups whole milk (I used skim milk.)
4 large eggs, room temperature
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 ½ cups grated Gruyère cheese (about 6 ounces) (I've since used Parmesan cheese as well.)

Muffin Pan Method: Place one 12-cup muffin pan and one 6-cup muffin pan in oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl to blend. Heat milk in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until very warm, about 125°F. Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk warm milk into eggs. Gradually stir flour mixture into milk mixture just to blend (batter may still be slightly lumpy). Remove hot muffin pans from oven. Spray pans with nonstick spray. Spoon ¼ cup batter into each of 16 muffin cups. Top each with 1 ½ tablespoons cheese. Bake until puffed and deep brown, about 40 minutes. (Do not open the oven door while they are baking!) Remove popovers from pan. Immediately pierce each popover with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape. That way they will stay puffy.

Popover Pan Method: Place one popover pan in oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl to blend. Heat milk in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until very warm, about 125°F. Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk warm milk into eggs. Gradually stir flour mixture into milk mixture just to blend (batter may still be slightly lumpy). Remove hot muffin pans from oven. Spray pans with nonstick spray. Fill each popover “cup” ¾ full with batter. (I had some batter left over.) Top each with 1 ½ tablespoons cheese. Bake until puffed and deep brown, about 40 minutes. (Do not open the oven door while they are baking!) Remove popovers from pan. Immediately pierce each popover with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape. That way they will stay puffy. oven door while they are baking!)