Tuesday

POPOVERS - Daring Bakers' Challenge - February 2012

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Popovers bring me fond memories of my childhood, but I didn't know that those very puffy and delicious treats were actually popovers. My mother got the recipe from a Brazilian friend who had lived  in the US. Seems like her friend gave the recipe a Brazilian name: Popófe.


Popófe became such a vivid memory of our childhood, that even after so many years when I asked my mother and my sisters if they remembered it they all replied a big "Yes, of course! That recipe that was written on a little piece of paper and that started with 7/8 cup of something?" they asked. That's it! The first ingredient was 7/8 cup of milk or flour, but quite an unusual measurement for a recipe.


Nowadays, many years later, with all the globalization, the internet to inform us of just about anything we want, and with my gastronomic curiosity, I started seeing many recipes online called Popovers and I started suspecting that they might be the Popófes of my childhood. The name was similar and they looked so familiar, which lead me to think that my mother's friend might have learned this recipe while living in the US and gave it a more "Brazilian accent". The reason why I think that she was the author of the new name is because I searched the web and couldn't find anything called Popófe :o)


I don't usually keep old papers in my house, I love the digital era and I'm sure that in a near future nothing is going to be printed on paper anymore. I'm a very allergic person and old paper means allergy attacks to me.  But not to my sister who sometimes shows up with some really funny stuff from the past. I was quite sure she  still had a copy of the Popófe recipe. I'm glad that I'm half a world away from this paper and can still look at it without sneezing! By the way, the 7/8 cup ingredient was milk! And I have just googled "7/8 cup + popovers" and found many popover recipes that still carry this amount of milk. Bingo! Now I'm SURE that POPÓFE = POPOVER!!!

Photo courtesy of my sister...   atchoo !!!


Well, it's time to move on to this month's Daring Bakers' challenge, Quick Breads. As a Brazilian I could never really understand why quick breads are called breads, as they look like cakes to me. But after this challenge I learned that they are quick because they are not yeasted, thus not requiring rising times, and bread because they are baked in loaf pans. Also, it is a general name for muffins, biscuits (scones), popovers and so on. It was good to learn the real meaning of Quick Breads!

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

When I saw that popovers were considered quick breads, I instantly decided that they were the ones I would make for this challenge, as it had been a while since I wanted to find out if popovers were the same as "popófes". Turns out they ARE! 

I also made a Quick Bread version of my Tangerine Cake that now can also be called Tangerine Bread!


And, coming up soon, Banana Bread! I made it just before posting time and need a little more time to write about it. Stay tuned :o)




Now it's time for the Popover recipe, but fisrt, a few notes:

  • popover batter resembles crepe batter.
  • it puffs up a lot, but does not require baking powder.
  • there are special pans for making popovers. I don't have one, so I used small Korean teacups that are heat resistant. Be creative to choose your popover pan substitute, but make sure it is oven-proof!
  • This is what a popover pan looks like:

POPOVERS
(recipe adapted from Second Floor Walkup)

Makes 6


1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter, melted (+ a little more for the cups)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).

Grease the cups with butter and add a tiny piece of butter in the bottom of each cup. Arrange cups in a baking tray and put them in the preheating oven.


Put all ingredients in a bowl and whisk well until smooth.

Remove pan with cups from the oven and fill cups halfway with batter.

Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 180°C (350°F) and bake for further 20 minutes until golden brown. Do not open the oven door while baking.

Popped into the oven:


10 minutes later:


15 minutes later:


20 minutes later:



Thanks Lis, for the AMAZING challenge!

Please visit THE DARING KITCHEN to see the amazing creations of the other participants, where you will also find the original recipes and guidelines for this challenge.




33 comments:

  1. Your popovers look so light and fluffy! Is that maple syrup drizzled over? Mmmmmm.
    Those teacups are beautiful!

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  2. Your popovers have been speaking to me all month. I can't wait to actually try them. And that tangerine bread looks SO delicious. Awesome work on this challenge, as always. And thank you for your kindness and encouragement on the forum. You truly make the Daring Kitchen a wonderful, brighter place.

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  3. Your popovers are great, Renata! Love that you used coffee mugs! I forgot to take pictures of my Tex Mex Cornbread so can't post! I made them for a client and was in a rush to deliver. I can't believe I did that.

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  4. It's a pity that the popovers have to be removed from the cups to eat - the cups are SO pretty! Yes, the silicone mould that I used for my muffins do look suitable for popovers. I shall try them using your recipe. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. Renata thank you so much for posting the popover recipe my second batch worked out amazingly well a huge stable puff ball a marvellous recipe. Also your tangerine Bread quick bread looks so pretty a wonderful effort this month with mouth watering results. A great job on this challenge. Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

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  6. Renata

    I love your popover, I have never try one but they look amazing, I am going to follow your mother´s recipe, thanks for sharing it. And the tangerine loaf looks luscious, congratulations.

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  7. Thank you so much Renata for the popover and tangerine recipe and I can't wait for the banana one.
    I have never heard of popovers before this challenge and now they are on my must try list
    As always thank you for the inspiration and great pictures and the brilliant job on this challenge

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  8. Renata, thanks so much for the popovers recipe! I loved these the best this month! One day mine will look like yours!

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  9. I love your popover recipe. They sure do rise good!

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  10. Renata - I love the Popover story and the photo of the original recipe is delightful, I love the history behind baking recipes. I've never tried them and they are not something I've seen in New Zealand. Having said that people make Yorkshire Puddings to go with roast beef and they seem to be almost identical in process.Best wishes from New Zealand :)

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  11. I love your popovers and I love the brazilian name ^-^
    Of course I can't wait to read your banana bread's recipe. I LOVE how does it look and I'm in love of that mold! Big hug dearest, have a nice week!

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  12. Your popovers are some of the fluffier and most beautifully photographed I have ever seen - look gorgeous :D
    Yum!!!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru
    Latest: Muffintopcookiecake Hybrid

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  13. Beautiful Popovers! This is something that my Nana used to always make, she called them Yorkshire Pudding, though. Yours look delicious, I am definitly going to try them! I love that you have the old soiled hand written recipe. It is something special to keep :)

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  14. Absolutely gorgeous, they look so fluffy! And I love the little cups!

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  15. Hi Renata, these are beautiful! I'd never even heard of a popover before but now i'm intrigued. Your photos are so gorgeous too.

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  16. Your Popovers are Fantastic. And your Tangerine Cake looks Prefect.
    I enjoyed making Popovers :)
    Wonderful Photos!!!!!

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  17. Beautiful popovers! I love the dishes you used to bake them in too. It's nice to know you don't have to own special pans to do this.

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  18. Love finding old recipes like that on paper, and god you can get a pic of it lol. The egg holder is a brilliant idea for your mold. The popovers, especially the texture, look fab.

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  19. Renata thank you SO MUCH for that popover recipe! I was so impressed with how delicious they were, and how well they turned out! And now I appreciate them even more after hearing your popofe story :) Apart from the fantastic popovers, your tangerine and banana breads look stunning. GREAT job on this challenge!

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  20. Yor popovers popped beautifully! I love the height you got. And the family fun they brought, too! When we were young my mother made popovers in mugs. They didn't pop so well... Your tea cups are beautiful, and work so well! Thank you for sharing your work and your family stories with us!

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  21. A bunch of beautiful breads. I may just have to try that tangerine cake (bread) sometime. I have never thought of popovers as a quick bread either but I guess they are. Love that you could get that recipe and love your pics of them rising.

    I hope you are right about paper going away - I can't seem to get rid of it.

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  22. ALL of your pictures are so gorgeous this month. We love popovers in this house and make them at least once a month, they are so addictive. Both your tangerine loaf and banana bread are stunning as well!!! Best, sandie

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  23. Mmm, my next batch of tangerines are going to be put to use in some quick bread, yours looks so good! I am also excited to read about your banana bread, and I covet the pan it is in too!

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  24. I absolutely love popovers and I wish I had one of yours now. BTW, those baking cups are so pretty.

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  25. Your breads look so beautiful! I love the popovers and the ceramic cups that you baked them in. Beautiful! Nice job on the challenge!

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  26. Renata, thank you for your kind comment! Fresh blueberries are very expensive here so I use frozen blueberries. I'm sure you could use the dried ones. Have you thought of reconsituting them?

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  27. I love the story about the popofe :) and the containers you used for them are so pretty. The lemon bread looks too good to eat, excellent job!

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  28. I loved the pop overs and the cute ceramic mugs. The banana bread's container too looks very pretty and I read it in the DB thread that you made them - Really awesome!

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  29. Your popovers look gorgeous! I never knew you could substitute the popover pan for any other oven proof type shape!

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  30. I love those Korean tea cups - what a unique base for baking your popovers. I'm glad this challenge brought back the fun memory of Popófe for you and that seeing the original recipe didn't make you sneeze. Thank you for sharing the story and your hard work.

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  31. Popovers look so light and delicious, absolutely scrumptious.

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