Monday, September 15, 2014

Cheesy Herb Popovers : Bake-Along #68

It's time for our Bake-Along, and for our bake #68, I've chosen "Popovers" to bake together with Lena and Zoe and anyone who wishes to bake along with us.

Do you like eating Popovers? Have you tried baking "Popovers" before? We like eating Popovers and they are really easy to make. Popovers are made with just eggs, flour and milk, and the flavours can varies between sweet and savoury or just plain, eaten with jam. Our favourite in my house are the savoury ones. Popovers are baked using popover pans, but muffins pans works out great. I baked mine using muffins pans, just be sure to grease them really well, so that they pop out easily. There are no leavening or yeast used for making popovers, as they bake, the steam causes the hollow in the centre, making the thin batter rises really high, and they will collapse, not long after baking. Though this recipe I've tried, remained quite puffy, deflating only a little, even after almost an hour after baking.



These are really super easy to make. All the ingredients are mixed in a blender and poured into greased muffin pans and bake! The only thing I added is more chives. Recipe states to add about a scant teaspoon of any fresh herbs, I've used chives, since I have some chives in my garden pot. And have used about 1-1/2 tablespoons for the batter, plus additional for sprinkling over the top. The blended batter has a light tinge of green because of the chives, and smells really nice.



Make sure the muffin pans are well greased. Pour the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, and sprinkle the top with some chopped chives and some shredded cheddar cheese. From the photo above, the green colour of the batter cannot be seen, as the green is very light.


Bake in a preheated oven at 220C for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180C, and bake for a further 15 minutes until they are golden brown and puffy. I like to watch the process of the popovers puffing up! The second photo, about 10 minutes after the placing the tray in the oven, the popovers are already puffing up.


Reduce the temperature as directed in the recipe and bake for a further 15 minutes or until they are golden brown and yummy looking!


Nice and golden. Delicious and fun to eat! Eat it while it is still hot and fresh from the oven.
The kitchen smells of cheese and chives while these are baking. I like the smell of melting cheese as they bake. So good.


This is really, really yummy! Look at the hollow centre. The crust is so crispy, especially the top, really delicious with the "melted-turned-crispy cheese", while the insides are soft and taste "chive-y" good!  Can you see the lightly tinge of green on the inside, that's from the blended chives. All the 12 popovers are gone within an hour. 

Please do join us by baking any Popovers recipe and link your post (must be current) to our linky below. If you have not tried Popovers before, well, maybe this is the time to try it. And don't forget to make a pot of tea!


Cheesy Herb Popovers
(adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Home Baked Comfort", Kim Laidlaw)
makes 12 popovers
3 large eggs
1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125ml) heavy cream
1 cup (8 fl oz/250ml) whole milk
1-1/4 cups (6-1/2 oz/200gm) all-purpose flour
scant tsp minced fresh thyme, chives or oregano (I use 1-1/2 tbsp minced chives)
extra minced chives to scatter the top before baking (my addition)
1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt (depending on how salty the cheese is) (I use pinch of sea salt)
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (use 45gm salted butter)
1/2 cup (2oz/60gm) shredded Gruyere, Cheddar, or Parmesan cheese

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425F (220C). Generously butter 12 standard muffin cups, including the top of the pan.
In a blender, process the eggs, cream, milk, flour, herbs, and salt until blended. With the blender running, pour in the melted butter. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about three-fourths full. Top each with a sprinkle of cheese, (and chopped chives, if using). Bake for 20 minutes (you may want to peek at the popovers, but whatever you do, don't be tempted to open the oven door).
Reduce the oven temperature to 350F (180C) and bake until the popovers are hollow and golden brown, about 15 minutes longer. Immediately unmold the popovers onto a wire rack. They are best eaten right away, while hot (but please don't burn yourself).



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Do stop by Lena of Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, and all our friends who has baked along with us in the linky below :

For our next Bake-Along, we will be baking Maple Nut Pie, from The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book, page 232 or you may get the recipe, here. Our linky which will start on 14th October till 23rd October. Everyone is welcome to join us! 


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A friendly reminder when linking to our blog hop :
1. Please mention Bake-Along event in your own post linking direct to any of the hosts' post (JoyceLena or Zoe)
2. Please link only new and current post, PLEASE FOLLOW THE BAKE OR THEME provided by us. Unrelated post will be deleted.
3. Feel free to display our Bake-Along badge in your post.

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Cook-Your-Books



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18 comments:

  1. Hi Joyce,

    I'm impressed to see that your popovers are so well popped that they are hollow inside!!!

    Mine is the traditional plain but short ones :p

    Zoe

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  2. Hi Joyce, I've not attempted Popovers recipes although I've seen a few in the cookbook. Your Cheesy Herb Popovers are so well popped ^-^! Wished I could try one for my brekkie !

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  3. Hi Joyce! I just came over from Lena's. Your popovers look like muffins until I saw that big hole in the middle ha..hah... This is something new for me to try!

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  4. Great idea in adding the cheese for more flavors, but since my boys are not home, I shall skip making these otherwise the dog and me is going to get fatter lol!

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  5. oooh wow wow owww... i love how your puff up soo beautifully in the oven

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  6. Joyce, how yummy! I love cheese and chives. I didn't get to plant chives in my garden this year but I will next season. You're right, cheddar smells so good while baking. The popovers are beautiful and puffy. If they were in our house, they'll be gone in less than an hour! :-)

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  7. oooooooh yumm. have to check out this bake along :)

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  8. I've made popovers a couple of time, really handy as a "quick bread" sometimes when we don't have time and need something to serve with soups.

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  9. Hi Joyce, this is the first time I heard of popover. Sounds and looks interesting. Will give this a try soon. Thanks for sharing and regards :)

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  10. wow! now i can that yours are really high...when you mentioned to me that yours really rose up high..and i was just wondering how high they were..and the what amazes me is yours dont really deflate that much!

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  11. Hi Joyce, I think your popovers are great for snacking. Nicely pufffed up too!

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  12. Joyce , those are pretty fantastic popovers esp the last photo ! You had me on cheese alone :D Your recipe is worth considering !

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  13. WOW! Looks amazing & sounds really good ! Now I wanna make some too as I've never make popovers before ! Another 1st! LOL

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  14. love the cheese and herbs throughout! YUM!

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  15. I love popovers, and these have so much flavor as well as that lovely puffiness.

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  16. Wow its hollow inside! This looks really good.

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  17. Hi Joyce, I just mentioned in Lena's post that I want to try the savoury Popovers and here's your recipe for me ;D

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