The First Published Recipe

While recipes for "Yorkshire Pudding" have likely been around for centuries, the first published recipe for what was then called "A Dripping Pudding" was published in an eye opening book from 1735, titled The Whole Duty of a Woman." While a cook book, the first half of the publications delves heavily into the expected morality and behavior of a proper woman. It's worth a glance as it provides insight into attitudes of the time.

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Make a good Batter as for Pancakes, put it in a hot Toss-pan over the Fire with a Bit of Butter to fry the Bottom a little, then put the Pan and Batter under a Shoulder of Mutton instead of a Dripping-pan, keeping frequently shaking it by the Handle and it will be light and savoury, and fit to take up when your Mutton is enough; then turn in a Dish, and serve hot.

A decade after the publication of The Whole Duty of a Woman the highly influential Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy was published in 1747. The book's recipe for "Yorkshire Pudding" is the first recorded use of the name the dish known by today.

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Take a quart of milk, four eggs, and a little salt, make it up into a thick batter with flour, like a pancake batter. You must have a good piece of meat at the fire, take a stew-pan and put some dripping in, set it on the fire; when it boils, pour in your pudding; let it bake on the fire till you think it is nigh enough, then turn, a plate upside down in the dripping pan, that the dripping might not be blacked; set your stew-pan on it under your meat and let the dripping drop on the pudding, and the heat of the fire come to it, to make it of a fine brown. When your meat is done and sent to table, drain all the fat from your pudding, and set it on the fire again to dry a little; then slide it as dry, at you can into a dish, melt some butter, and pour it into a cup, and set it in the middle of the pudding. It is an excellent good pudding; the gravy of the meat eats well with it.

Yorkshire Pudding

• 4 large eggs
• 1 1⁄2 cups whole milk
• 1⁄2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil (or beef drippings)

In a blender, combine the eggs, milk, flour, and salt. Blend until well combined and place in the refrigerator until ready to use (allow to rest for at least 30 minutes).

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Put 1 teaspoon of the oil (or beef drippings) into each section of a 12-hole Yorkshire pudding tray or muffin tray and put into the oven on the top shelf until very hot, almost smoking.

As soon as you take the tray from the oven, pour in the batter to three-quarters fill the tins (it should sizzle) and immediately put back into the oven.

Bake until the Yorkshire puddings are well risen, golden brown and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Don't open the oven door until the end or they might collapse.

Yorkshire Pudding

• 1 cup beaten egg
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1⁄2 cup milk
• 1⁄2 cup water
• salt
• pepper
• 1 -2 tablespoon cooking oil or 1 -2 tablespoon dripping

Preheat your oven to 240C,475F or gas mark 9. (If you are cooking roast beef and/or roast potatoes, make sure the beef has been removed to "rest" before carving and that the potatoes are moved down to the bottom shelf and NEED browning still.)

Pour a scant amount of oil or dripping into your Yorkshire Pudding tins.(A large roasting tin can be used too. If you do not have a Yorkshire Pudding tin which has 4 wide and shallow cups of about 4" in diameter, then use a large muffin tin.)

Put the tin into the pre-heated oven about 5 minutes before you want to cook the Yorkshire Puddings.

Empty the flour, salt & pepper into a large roomy bowl.

Make a dip in the centre and add the beaten eggs bit by bit, mixing as you go along.

Add the water/milk mixture gradually and whisk in between each addition.

Keep whisking until all the liquids have been added. The batter may still be lumpy - this does not matter.

Cover and leave to rest for up to 1 hour.

Just before cooking, whisk thoroughly again to break down any lumps & add some more air.

Carefully take out the tin/s. Pour the batter into the tin/s and QUICKLY return to the oven.

Cook for about 20 minutes until well risen and golden brown. DO NOT open the oven in the first 10-15 minutes or they will DROP!

If you have two tins cooking, rotate the tins from top to bottom shelves after the 10-15 minutes so they cook evenly.

Serve with Roast Beef and lashings of gravy!

Can also be served with any Roast Dinner