You would've laughed if you had been in my kitchen yesterday when I pulled a pan of monstrous cherry popovers out of the oven. They looked all sorts of wrong, and one was so tall it bent over as if it had given up altogether. And they weren't any better on the inside, either: a popover should be hallow, but mine had thick, squishy insides. It didn't take me long to figure out what had gone wrong. I'd filled the baking mold much too high, and the fresh cherries I'd experimentally added into the batter had ruined the fluffy texture.
Sometimes experiments work, and sometimes they don't.
Today I baked them again. I didn't pour the batter to the top of the cups this time, and I kept the cherries as a side instead. This time the popovers came out of the oven with perfect golden brown crowns, and hallow insides ready for a scoop of syrupy cherries.
Basic Popovers with Fresh Syrupy Cherries (makes 6 popovers)
recipe adapted from Bakingdom
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp canola oil
fresh cherries
sugar to coat the halved cherries
1. Crack eggs into a mixing bowl. Add milk and whisk. Slowly add flour and salt and continue whisking until mixed in. Add melted butter and mix again until smooth. Cover with a clean towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
2. While the oven preheats to 450°F, pour a half teaspoon of oil into the 6 popover cups and use a pastry brush to spread the oil up the sides of each cup. Place the oiled pan into the warming oven. (You can also make these in a muffin pan if you don't have a popover pan.)
3. Pit and halve the cherries. Place into a bowl and sprinkle with sugar, coating all sides. Stir occasionally. By the time the popovers are ready, the sugar will be dissolved and the cherries will be coated in syrup. (You can also slightly mash the cherries if you'd like.)
4. When the batter is done resting, remove the hot popover pan from the oven and quickly pour in the batter. Fill the cups about 3/4 way full. Place the pan back in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 15 minutes, or until golden brown. (Don't open the door until you're getting close to the end – it could result in fallen popovers!)
5. Tear open a popover, spoon the cherries inside, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and enjoy!
