This simple recipe can be used to make light and crisp Popovers, yes. But it can also make Yorkshire Pudding and Pannekoeken, a puffy Dutch pancake. One recipe, many options.
Rice Flour Popovers
Ingredients
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3 to 4 tablespoons dairy-free margarine
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1-1/4 cups soymilk or other milk of your choice
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4 eggs
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1 cup rice flour
Directions
These are so yummy and so easy and everyone always likes them. Start off by preheating your oven to 400°. Coat all of the cups in a 12-cup muffin tin with no-stick vegetable oil spray. Divide the margarine into 12 bits. Place a small bit of margarine into each muffin cup. Place the pan in the oven while it preheats. The margarine will melt as the pan and oven heat.
Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl combine the soymilk, eggs and salt. Beat with a wire whisk or electric beaters until the eggs are thoroughly incorporated with the milk. Add the flour. Beat again until the batter is smooth and thin.
Remove the hot muffin tin from the oven. Carefully divide the batter among the hot cups. Go slow and take care not to burn yourself on the hot pan. When the muffin cups are filled place the hot pan back into the oven.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the popovers are puffed and brown. Remove the pan from the oven and serve the popovers immediately. They will lose their puffiness as they cool. They still taste good, but aren’t as pretty to look at. Makes a dozen.
Yorkshire Pudding
Prepare the batter for Rice Flour Popovers, above. Instead of a muffin tin use a 10-inch iron skillet or a sturdy metal 9-inch square or round pan. Place 2 or 3 tablespoons of margarine or the fat from a roasted beef into the pan. Preheat the pan in the oven at 400° for about 10 minutes, or until it’s sizzling hot. Pour the batter into the hot pan. Bake as directed for about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, cut into wedges and serve hot with beef gravy. This is great with a roasted leg of lamb or whole brisket for the Christian Passover or other holidays.
Pannekoeken
Pannekoeken is a puffy Dutch pancake, usually filled with apples, but sometimes filled with other fruit such as peaches or berries in season. When I lived in Minnesota we ate it often at a local restaurant. The batter is the same as for popovers, but it’s baked in an iron skillet or 9-inch cake pan instead of muffin cups. Hot fruit filling is spooned over top before serving.
Prepare the batter for Rice Flour Popovers, as directed. Omit the muffin pan. Use a 10-inch iron skillet instead. Put 2 or 3 tablespoons of margarine into the pan and preheat it in the oven at 400° until it’s smoking hot, or for about 10 minutes. Pour in the batter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the batter is cooked and puffy. Remove from the oven and top with hot applesauce or canned apple pie filling or fried apples.
I usually use applesauce because that’s the simplest and, unless you grow your own apples, it’s usually the least expensive too. Applesauce is easy to heat in a small saucepan on the stove. Season it with a little cinnamon and then cook and stir over medium heat until it’s hot and bubbly. After spooning the apples over the pannekoeken you can sprinkle it with powdered sugar to make it pretty. Serve with sausage for a real treat.
In theory this makes 4 servings, but in practice it usually only makes 2 or 3. If you double the recipe you’ll need to cook it in 2 pans.