Baby Yorkshire Puddings with Trout & Horseradish Pate

Yorkshire puddings have a rather long history throughout the British Isles. Hannah Glasse, in her 1747 cookbook The Art of Cookery, was the first to categorise these puddings as an English speciality.

Classic recipes transcend time. They are a cultural phenomenon. Without actually tasting them, most of the Yorkshire puddings look wonderful on screen. But which one should I use? And how do I make it relevant to my everyday needs?

Here, I adapt a modern version of the Yorkshire puddings by Jamie Oliver. Instead of serving up the puddings in a large pan with gravy and meat, I like that these are baby Yorkshires, which are baked in a mini-muffin tin. Then serve with a creamy trout and horseradish pate.

Jamie suggests: just whack it right in the middle of the table so everyone can help themselves. I like that spirit. The baby Yorkshire puddings are perfect as appetizers for any occasions. Who can resist tasting one of these cutesy bites of the American equivalents of the popover or the French gougères? Gravy and pate are perhaps optional.

What do Yorkshire pudding, popover and gougère have in common? You may ask. It is the light, crisp, hollow roll made from an egg batter. Amazingly, they share the same key batter ingredients: milk, flour and eggs. A rough ratio of: 2 parts liquid to 1 part flour and 1 part egg. It is a very simple 3-ingredient recipe. No, there is no baking powder or yeast to help these puffs rise. Wonder how they puff up so dramatically without the use of leaveners. As a baker, I want to know more.

These recipes all start with a high-moisture batter and rely on the power of steam to puff and rise into their light, crisp final forms. Watch by the oven door and see for yourself. The persistence and the volume of these puds expanding during baking is a delightful sight to behold.

Most noteworthy are the findings of J. Kenji López-Alt, the author of the James Beard Award–nominated column The Food Lab, about the science of the best Yorkshires. The fact is the higher the ratio of liquid, the more dramatically the puddings will rise. Finally, his recipe calls for 75g of flour for every 200g of liquid — for a hydration level of 266%.

Furthermore, puddings with more water in them rise up puffier and crisper. J. Kenji López-Alt uses milk and water at a 7:1 ratio. Or 14 gram of water for 100 grams of milk. On the other end of the spectrum, a quick check on Nigel Slater’s Yorkshires shows a 1:1 ratio of milk to water. That means 150 ml of milk, 150 ml of water and 2 eggs to 110 g of flour.

Lastly, J. Kenji López-Alt finds empirically that resting your batter to be the single most important step to improving Yorkshire puddings.

This is consistent with Harold McGee’s research on the batter that proteins and starches breakdown and gluten forms over the course of the overnight rest. With little gluten development right after mixing, the interior of the pudding will turn out almost cake-like if the batter goes straight into the oven. On the other hand, when baked after an overnight rest, the pudding will take on a stretchy texture with large bubbles inside. The hollow-out cavity is ideally what you want to see, to hold the gravy, in the Yorkshire puddings.

Accordingly, I adapt Jamie’s recipe to reflect what science has shown us to be a better plan. I lower the amount of flour (from 100g to 80g). Meanwhile, I add water (14g) to raise the hydration level of the batter to about 267%. Finally, I let the batter rest on the kitchen counter for a few hours. No overnight rest for me in the interest of time. But at least, it’s better than no rest at all.

Can’t be happier how these Yorkshire puddings turn out. I make some back-of-the-envelope calculations and tightens the batter recipe on the margin. Go to work from there. However, make sure you put the oil in the molds of muffin tin and place it in the 475°F oven for 10-15 minutes till smoking. The sizzling pan ensures oven spring when the batter hits the oven. In the end, the yorkshires taste great, with the voluminous and hollow structure that takes my breath away.

Print Recipe

Baby Yorkshire puds (creamy smoked trout & horseradish pate)

Serves: Make 12

Ingredients

• FOR THE YORKIES:
• vegetable oil
• 2 large free-range eggs (100g)
• 80 g all-purpose flour
• 100 ml milk
• 14 g water
• lemon wedges, to serve
• FOR THE CREAMY SMOKED FISH:
• 125 g cream cheese
• 2-3 heaped teaspoons jarred horseradish
• 1 lemon
• ½ a bunch fresh chives, finely chopped (15g)
• 125 g hot-smoked trout, skin removed (ask your fishmonger), from sustainable sources
• rapeseed oil

Instructions

1

MAKE THE YORKSHIRE PUDDING BATTER: Beat the eggs, flour, milk and a pinch of salt and pepper together, aggressively, either by hand or in a food processor, until light and smooth. Transfer the mixture into a jug. Let batter rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Alternatively, for best results, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate batter overnight or for up to 3 days.

2

MAKE THE TROUT AND HORSERADISH PATE: Put the cream cheese into a mixing bowl with the horseradish, the zest of 1 lemon and the juice from half, and mix together. Mix in most of the chopped chives, then have a taste and add a pinch of salt and pepper. It’s very important that this mixture has a bolshie attitude – it should be hot, smoky, salty, so add more horseradish or lemon juice if needed. Flake in the trout, removing any skin and bones, then use a spatula to fold the mixture together gently so you have smaller bits and nice chunks. Decant into a single nice serving dish or several little bowls or cups, then drizzle over a little rapeseed oil and sprinkle over a few more chopped chives. Cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge to get nice and cold.

3

When you’re nearly ready to eat, preheat the oven to full whack (about 240°C/475°F/gas 9). Get a mini muffin tin and pour a little thimble of vegetable oil into the compartments of the tin, so you have a thin layer covering the bottom of each. Pop the tray on to the top shelf in the hot oven for around 10 to 15 minutes, so the oil gets so hot that it smokes.

4

Carefully take the tray out of the oven and quickly and confidently pour the batter into the hot tin so it nearly fills each well. If it doesn't sizzle when you pour the first one, put the tin back into the oven until it does. Return the tray to the top shelf of the oven to cook for around 10 to 12 minutes, or until the Yorkies are puffed up and golden. Get your cold cups and bowls of potted fish out of the fridge and serve, immediately, on a board with those sizzling hot little Yorkies and some lemon wedges.

Notes

Adapted from a Jamie Oliver's recipe. https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fish-recipes/baby-yorkshire-puds-creamy-smoked-trout-horseradish-pate/