This is an easy breakfast dish because the dough can be made the night before and the popovers can be baked in the oven while the family gets dressed.
Makes 8 popovers
plain flour 115g
salt ½ teaspoon
milk 215ml
eggs 2
Orange peel 1 teaspoon, grated
melted butter 15ml
oil or lard for the baking pans
Orange marmalade 8 teaspoons
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a hole in the center and pour in the milk and lightly beaten eggs. Mix until you get a smooth dough. Add the grated orange zest and beat very hard with an egg beater until the surface is covered with bubbles.
If possible, let it rest in a cold place for about an hour, then add the melted butter and beat again.
Heat the oven to 200C fan/gas mark 7. Grease 8 deep castle pudding tins or deep hamburger tins very well. Put them in the oven until hot. Pour in the batter, filling each tin two-thirds full. Stir a small teaspoon of jam into each one and pop them right into the hot oven for about 10 minutes; then reduce the heat to 160C fan/gas mark 4, and bake for about 25 more minutes, until the popovers are well-puffed, crisp, and golden. Eat right away with lots of butter and more jam, if you like.
From Margaret Costa’s Four Seasons Cookbook (Grub Street Publishing, £16.99)