Delicious Goat Cheese and Black Pepper Popovers Great with soup or stew.
Looking for something a little different to enjoy with your winter soup or stew? How about a popover, or more specifically, a warm, melted goat cheese-filled popover?
Popovers are surprisingly easy to make. I’ve tried a couple of different popover recipes over the years, but this is the one I’ve settled on. I like that I don’t have to scald the milk, like in many popover recipes – not that scalding milk is a huge big deal, but it’s another step (and another pot to wash).
And then there’s always the need to be extra careful when mixing hot milk with eggs so I don’t end up with scrambled eggs. Been there, done that! This recipe just needs the eggs and milk to be at room temperature, so basically I just have to remember to remove them from fridge and ignore them for 30 minutes or so.
Other than that, the batter for these popovers comes together really quickly, without needing to bust out a mixer. They’ll need about 40 minutes in the oven though, so plan your timing accordingly.
Oh … one small word of warning … don’t over-fill your cups. They will expand exponentially and they will over-flow and drip on to the bottom of your oven and set your smoke detector off. Yes, that is the voice of personal experience talking :) You see, even though I know that, it doesn’t ever seem to stop me from “topping up” the cups to avoid wasting the last bit of the batter. My desire not to waste food trumps my common sense every time!
Cook’s Notes
Popovers are at their best as soon as they are baked, but I have made them ahead (a few hours, anyway). Simply place them on a baking sheet and re-heat them in a 350° F. oven for 5 minutes.
You can use a muffin tin rather than a popover pan to make popovers, but your popovers will obviously be shorter and smaller. If using a muffin tin, I’d suggest using several tins and filling every other cup, to give them some growing room
Get the Recipe: Goat Cheese and Black Pepper Popovers
Ingredients
- 3 large (3 large) eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (366 ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp. (7.5 g) salt
- Several grinds of freshly ground pepper
- 3 oz. (85.05 g) goat cheese, cut into 6 large chunks (or 10 if using muffin tins)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450° F. with oven rack in the lower third of the oven (an no rack too close above it). Place popover pan (or muffin tins) in oven to heat while you mix the batter.
- In a large bowl (preferably one with a spout for easy pouring), combine the eggs and milk in a large bowl and whisk vigorously until the mixture is very frothy, about 1 minute. Add the flour, salt and pepper and whisk until batter is the consistency of heavy cream with some small lumps and air bubbles remaining.
- (*If using a muffin tin, you'll need to reduce the baking time. I'd suggest 15 minutes at 450° F. and another 15-18 minutes at 350° F. Watch closely the first time to gauge. You also might want to fill only every other muffin cup, to give the popovers room to grow.)
- Remove popover pan from oven and coat lightly with cooking spray. Fill popover cups about half full with batter. Drop a large chunk of goat cheese into the centre of the batter in each cup. Bake bake for 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350° F. and continue baking until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes more.
- Remove the popover pan from the oven and immediately turn them out onto a wire rack. Using a sharp knife, poke a small opening in the side of each popover to let the steam escape. Serve immediately.
I made these the other night (along with your Skillet Pork Medallions in Mushroom Marsala Sauce recipe), and they were both absolutely delicious! :)
For the inevitable next time that I make them… do you usually add the pepper at the same time as the flour & salt?
So glad you enjoyed them Nicholas and yes, I add the pepper with the flour and salt. Sorry, seems I skipped over that part in the instructions (I’ve added it now).
I was wondering if I could substitute all purpose flour with say whole wheat?
Hi Jess. I definitely wouldn’t replace all the all-purpose flour with whole wheat. You could try up to half whole wheat, but understand that it does behave differently in baking. Your rolls will be heavier.
We stumbled upon your blog and really love it! We just started food blogging ourselves. Serious fans of goat cheese! Thanks for the recipe! We were just in Bracebridge last month!
Thanks so much. Always great to find fellow Ontario bloggers!
Oh man does these look good! Anything with goat cheese is a plus!
Thanks and I agree completely about the goat cheese. Makes everything better!
I am ready to make these like immediately! They sound so good and they look so crisp and light. And goat cheese in the middle!? Heck yes! I have cream cheese at home I could sub. I’ve never made popovers and you make it sound so simple! I’ll report back on how it goes in a muffin tin :)
Oh yes … do let me know how they go in a muffin tin (and cream cheese will be fine!)
Well I never did report back, shame on me! But we loved these popovers! It was the first time I had ever made them and I wondered if they would be tricky for me or not. I just followed your directions and they were perfect! Thanks Jennifer! I forgot to get dough started last night for dinner tonight, so I’m going to serve these to our guests with soup and salad. YUM! –Oh yeah and totally worked well in the muffin tin! They just need plenty of room between :)
So glad you enjoyed them, Sophie and the muffin tin worked ok. So every other muffin cup best?
You know, I was going to say yes, but last night I filled every muffin tin and only filled them just about halfway. They got super tall but didn’t touch each other. Success!
Good to know. Thanks! (You now have me craving these all over again though, so I’ll have to make some soon :)
How did you know that popovers are my ULTIMATE weakness?!
You would love these then Chung-Ah, especially if you are a goat cheese lover!
I *love* popovers, these look heavenly!
Thanks Laura. I love them, too. They are a nice change from the usual bread/biscuit side.
These would be perfect with a nice roast beef or something immuring in a pot on the stove this winter. I really need a popover pan!!
They would be perfect with roast beef, Valerie … much like a yorkshire pudding really, but with some tangy goat cheese. And yes, I highly recommend a popover pan. I’m not usually one for single-purpose pans, but I make an exception for my popover pan :)