Popovers with Strawberry Butter from Neiman Marcus are amazing buttery pastries that make a perfect meal starter during the holidays or anytime.
When my friends and family come over during the holiday season, there is one dish popular that is the most requested. The dish is homemade Popovers with Strawberry Butter.
I first had these amazing buttery pastries many years ago with Mr. JOC while we were still dating. Before we had our children, Mr. JOC and I enjoyed shopping at Union Square in San Francisco on weekends and stopping by The Rotunda in Neiman Marcus for lunch.
While waiting for their famous Lobster Club Sandwich, The Rotunda served a complementary popover with strawberry butter instead of bread. As I slathered strawberry butter on airy and fluffy warm popover, I fell in love with it immediately and craved more.
What Are Popovers?
They are similar to English Yorkshire puddings. In the UK, Yorkshire puddings are usually served with roast meat and gravy and are a staple of the traditional British Sunday roast.
Neiman Marcus shares this recipe in their cookbook as well as on the last page of the children’s menu in the restaurant. When I discovered I could easily make these at home, I was overjoyed.
Making Popovers at Home
Why do I personally like them so much? A couple of reasons; first they are super easy to make and secondly, I simply can’t resist tasty pastry! As I am writing this post I could already taste them again.
The best way to enjoy them is straight out of the oven. As you rip apart the crispy outer shells, warm steam escapes from the slightly doughy and soft bread-like inside. Smear on the tasty homemade strawberry butter and see it melt on the warm popovers and blends together, then take a bite. Yummy!
Popover Pans vs. Muffin Pans
You can use muffin pans by using ever other tin instead of purchasing new popover pans. However, I’ve heard from JOC readers that the result is not as good as ones made in popover pans.
I recommend these from Amazon. I know this pan only makes popovers, but trust me you will be making these over and over again. 😉
This recipe makes 12 popovers and each pan can make 6. I have 2 of these specialized pans so I can make the second batch while the first batch is cooling down.
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Popovers with Strawberry Butter
Video
Ingredients
- 3½ cups whole milk
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 6 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (at room temperature)
- cooking spray
For the Strawberry Butter
- ½ cup unsalted butter (8 Tbsp; at room temperature)
- ¼ cup strawberry jam
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. For this recipe, you will need 2 popover pans. To use muffin tins instead, use every other tin so that the popovers have plenty of room to expand OR pour only half full with batter. If you want to make just 6 popovers, hover your cursor over “12“ servings and move the slide to the left to change the servings to 6.
- Place 3½ cups whole milk in a bowl (or 4-cup measuring cup) and microwave on high for 2 minutes, or until warm to the touch.
- Sift 4 cups all-purpose flour (plain flour), 1½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and 1 tsp baking powder together into a large mixing bowl.
- Add 6 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until foamy and pale in color.
- Turn down the mixer to low and add the warm milk.
- Gradually add the flour mixture and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
- Turn the machine off and let the batter rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
- When it’s almost 1 hour, preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Place each of the popover pans on a baking sheet and spray the pans with cooking spray.
- Fill the popover pans three-quarters full with the batter.
- Transfer to the oven and bake on 425ºF (220ºC) for 15 minutes. Then, turn down the oven temperature to 375ºF (190ºC) and bake for 30 minutes, or until the popovers are a deep golden brown on the outside and airy on the inside.
To Make the Strawberry Butter
- While baking the popovers, make the strawberry butter. Place ½ cup unsalted butter in the stand mixer and beat on high until light and fluffy. Add ¼ cup strawberry jam and beat until well combined. To save the strawberry butter, keep it in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 2–3 days.
To Serve
- Serve the popovers warm with strawberry butter on the side.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container (or bag) and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for a month.
Notes
Equipment
- 2 popover pans
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on November 11, 2012. Images and contents were updated on October 19, 2014.
Perhaps I could mix non-dairy milk with non-dairy yogurt to approach a whole milk feel. I also wondered about making your poppers with cocoa in the batter?
Hi Roslyn! It sounds like a great combi!
We hope it turns out well!🙂
I would love to make these with basil and green onions in them! But will it work with non-dairy milk and spelt flour?
Hi Roslyn! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and expanding the recipe!
We have not tried non-dairy milk and spelt flour before and are unsure how the texture will be. If you try it, please let us know!
Hi Nami, I tried making them a 2nd time, and they turned out much better this time, although they didn’t have the giant hollows insides like in the video.
As I’ve never had popovers before (they aren’t sold here in Jakarta), was wondering if they are supposed to be moist inside.
Also, as they were quite bland the 1st time, I added a teaspoon of sugar into the batter. Was wondering if this will affect the texture of the popovers.
Hi Iris! Thank you very much for trying this recipe!
In most baking, adding extra sugar gives moisture to the batter, and possibly your Popovers was moister than Nami’s.
However, the popovers are crunchy on the outside with moist, slightly doughy, and soft bread-like inside. They are similar to English Yorkshire puddings.
To make hollows inside the popovers, we recommend pouring only halfway up with batter so that the popovers have plenty of room to expand if you use a muffin pan. We hope this helps!
Yes thank you! Will try again next time with the new fixes!
You are welcome, Iris!😊