Just about everyone in the UK can agree that Yorkshire pudding is an essential component of a traditional Sunday lunch, either cooked as a whole and then cut into squares or cooked in individual portions in patty tins, and traditionally served alongside roast beef.
This humble dish is held in such high esteem that it even has its own special days, British Yorkshire Pudding Day falls on the first Sunday of February, while the National Yorkshire Pudding Day, which is also celebrated in the USA, is on the 13th of October. And if you're planning on cooking your best yet (forget Aunt Bessie), remember that a Yorkshire pudding should stand at least four inches tall or it simply won't cut the mustard! You'll need to serve it immediately from the oven, it can't hang around, as otherwise, you'll just get a big flop (delicious all the same, though).
For fun facts and information on this great British culinary stalwart, visit this link.
The history of the Yorkshire pudding
In days gone past, the pudding would have been cut into squares and served with gravy before the meat, thus filling you up quickly and the hunger for meat, a little smaller. Roasts had to go further when feeding large families and this was an easy way to take the edge off appetites.
'A Dripping Pudding' first appeared in 1737 in The Whole Diary of a Woman when the pudding would have been cooked below a spit roast. Hannah Glasse (a northerner) talks about 'A Yorkshire Pudding' a decade later, remarking that 'It is an exceeding good pudding, the gravy of the meat eats well with it.'
North versus South
Although there is mention of dripping pudding in the south of England, it is the north that lays claim to this stalwart of the British menu. The Yorkshire pudding sets itself apart from southern impostors, with its lightness and crispness. This is achieved with the smoking hot dripping which the batter is poured into.
Dorothy Hartley in Food in England (1954) writes that Yorkshire pudding 'can only be made correctly in Yorkshire or Lancashire' noting that 'Probably the brisk, bright coal fires of the Black Country and the way they hang their roasting meat over the pudding below, have something to with it.'
Interestingly Yorkshire pud theorists scold pubs and eateries for serving it with all types of roast meat. However, there is a record of an early recipe for the batter that mentions serving it with mutton. Whichever way it is served, Yorkshire pudding is hard-wired into our diets and it is one of the dishes that stand the test of time.
To find out more about the history of the Yorkshire pudding, click here
or here.
Best recipes for Yorkshire pudding
There are many variations on Yorkshire pudding recipes, from the most humble to a sophisticated bite-size canapé recipe served with a fillet of beef and horseradish. With this in mind, we have searched the web for the most delicious, including a sweetened version, served with golden syrup.
Jamie Oliver Yorkshire pudding recipe
As Jamie Oliver aptly puts it, this is... 'The absolute classic recipe for crisp and fluffy Yorkshire puddings.'
Jamies uses vegetable oil in his version of the classic, along with cupcake tins to cook up his little crispy wonders. They're super quick to cook and rise and crisp to perfection. Why not cook them for a kids' supper, we say, with some crispy bacon or a slice of ham and peas?
To serve these Yorkshire puddings along with the best roast beef,check out our selection of delicious recipes for topside beef.
Gordon Ramsay Yorkshire pudding recipe
This recipe has a little bit more finesse, where Gordon suggests using freshly grated horseradish. You can use creamed horseradish out of a jar though. We suggest finding a great joint of beef from one of these luxury online butchers to serve alongside your Yorkshire pud.
James Martin Yorkshire pudding recipe
James Martin is a Yorkshire man through and through and we couldn't possibly compile a list of recipes without including one of his. Like Jamie and Gordon, he suggests using a muffin/cupcake tin to cook the individual puddings.
Yorkshire pudding recipe for 2
Even if you're roasting a joint for just two of you, it's worth going the extra mile and making Yorkshire pudding for two. After all, it's such an easy recipe, it would be such a shame to not include the finishing touch.
Yorkshire pudding recipe for 4
Adapted from Delia Smith’s Complete Illustrated Cookery Course, this recipe is super detailed, all ensuring that the resulting Yorkshire pudding is cooked to perfection for 4 people.
Yorkshire pudding recipe for 6
Delia favours using an electric hand whisk, as we do too. The cooking time is the same as the recipe for four so that makes this recipe for six even easier.
Best gluten-free Yorkshire pudding recipe
You can, of course, buy these in supermarkets but as we've discussed, nothing beats a homemade Yorkshire pudding and if you have a family member whose diet is gluten-free, why not treat them? Becky, who devised this recipe that uses just cornflour, eggs and milk, is so confident that she reckons no one will guess it's gluten-free.
Yorkshire pudding recipe for Toad in the Hole
Cooking sausages in the batter doesn't sound that appealing but on a cold winter's day, when the wind is blowing, this dish is a very welcome addition to anyone's repertoire. Be sure that the sausages are nicely browned before adding the batter. Also, we like adding a dash of wholegrain mustard to the batter for an added flavour kick.
You could try Jamie Oliver's recipe for Toad in the Hole, which has all your leftover Christmas Day meal in it. Jamie says You can pretty much use whatever leftovers you have in this epic creation – enjoy. ”
Follow in Jamie's footsteps and branch out using different ingredients to flavour the Yorkshire pudding batterr. BBC Good Food has some great ideas, which are savoury and sweet.
Mini Yorkshire puddings with roast beef and horseradish cream
From James Martin's kitchen, these tender mouthfuls make the perfect canapé for an upmarket drinks party. Using a fillet of beef and a dash of horseradish cream, these bite-size morsels look very A-list.
Sweet Yorkshire pudding with golden syrup
And just in case you hadn't had enough of Yorkshire pudding recipes, we've got one for dessert. The batter has orange zest and vanilla extract to give it that sweet touch. Served with golden syrup and caramelised bananas, what more could you ask for in a satisfying pudding?
Find out more about Tamsin Burnett-Hall's recipe for sweet Yorkshire Pudding.
Directions and standard ingredients
So what are the golden rules for a successful Yorkshire pudding? Delia Smith says you need the oven to be very hot, make sure you use a flameproof metal container and finally only ever use plain flour, not self-raising.
Sifting the flour can add airiness to the overall mix and all recipes state that you should let the batter rest for thirty minutes, much as you would with a pancake batter.
The dripping or fat should be super hot. This makes the batter crisp up quickly and of course, the rest follows. We have made Yorkshire pudding using olive oil as the fat and although this works, beef dripping gives the best flavour to the batter. Interestingly Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and James Martin all advocate using vegetable oil but if you're roasting a joint, it's so easy to spoon off a few tablespoons of fat and it seems such a waste not to. Of course, if you've got vegetarians among you, vegetable oil is the way to go.
Check out the insights on the following page at Serious Eats, where you'll find that the author believes it best to rest the batter overnight (highly unlikely that we'd be that organised) and use a combination of milk and water, which gives extra rise and crispness, which Delia recommends too. And then get the batter to room temperature before cooking it.
Necessary equipment
We use an electric whisk to make the batter. You can of course use a hand-held one, which is great if you want to get the kids involved. Yorkshire pudding is traditionally cooked in an enamel tin: we recommend you check out our round-up of companies specialising in enamelware.
BBC Good Food has tested all manner of tins from individual tins, muffin tins and trays, sharing advice on what to look for when considering a purchase.
First off, you want the tin to be sturdy. There's nothing worse than a tin that buckles the minute it goes in the oven. The tin needs to warm up quickly and distribute heat evenly so that you get a good rise throughout. A non-stick surface is helpful but so often, they don't quite do what they say on the tin! There's always some residue left behind which has to be eased off carefully, so you don't harm the non-stick coating. Consider the depth of the pan you're choosing as you do want the Yorkshire pudding to be capable of holding some gravy.
For individual puds, BBC Good Food rated Le Creuset's Yorkshire Pudding four-cup tray, which, although the most expensive item they tested, the perfect results more than justified the price tag. For a pan, they recommended a Mermaid hard anodised aluminium Yorkshire pudding pan, a brand loved by top chefs and cooks.
For a quick overview of fun coloured cookware brands, read our edit.
Summary
You should definitely make your own Yorkshire puddings. It's so much cheaper than buying supermarket brands, and the taste of homemade Yorkshire puddings is so much more superior to shop-bought. It's not difficult given you need just three ingredients, which you already have in your kitchen cupboards. And just think, you'll be repeating family history by serving Yorkshire pudding with your Sunday roast, whatever meat it may be.
It's not surprising that Yorkshire pudding is one of the most popular dishes across Britain which has filtered into the menus of people all around the world. Ask visitors to the UK what they are looking forward to eating when they arrive and they'll often say, a Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding. With the recipes we've picked, we show you how easy it is to perfect your Yorkshire puddings.
By Arabella Dymoke
August 2022
