Delicious filling ideas for sweet Yorkshire pudding recipes
There aren’t many people who don’t like Yorkshire puddings. Whether they’re traditionally large filled with meat and gravy, or little individual ones piled up alongside a roast. Used as toad-in-the-hole or even the more modern street food version Yorkshire pudding wraps. There’s more to them in their versatility, and that means sweet Yorkshire puddings.
For those of you outside the UK, you might be wondering what Yorkshire puddings are. Evidently in the US you have popovers which are a similar batter. The UK, individual yorkshires cooked in a muffin tin are very similar to these, and are basically a cooked puffed up pancake type batter. The traditional larger yorkshire pudding seems to still be a UK thing.
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The history of the Yorkshire pudding
I’ve got a bit caught up reading random facts about Yorkshire puddings. Who knew there were 2 Yorkshire puddings days a year to celebrate them ?
I definitely recommend you trying them if you’ve not. They can take a bit of practice and getting used to your oven. If making individual ones they’ll be much faster to cook (my electric oven only takes 15 minutes for these, my aga is around 20 minutes with nothing else in the oven. 1 large to share version will be around 25 minutes.
Tips for perfect Yorkshire puddings
To make them, you need plain flour, milk and eggs. It’s more about the little details in getting them to rise, be crispy and high on the outside and softer on the bottom and inside.
I use a Delia Smith recipe, but double the ingredients as I have a hungry OH and find her servings are small
If you struggle with over crispiness and no ‘dip’, try making one large pudding instead. I find my Aga won’t make individual ones rise with a sunken hole in the centre (essential for the gravy or filling to go in), but is great at larger Yorkshires.
You can use a muffin tin or single baking tin. I prefer to use a glass Pyrex dish* to do my individual ones in. If it sticks, there’s less damage to glass than a tin to get it out!
The oven temperature needs to be hot, ideally 220C.
The oil has to be hot and smoking before the batter is poured in. My electric oven gets the oil hot in the pan after 5 minutes, my aga (with a roast also in), can take 20 minutes to heat the oil enough. It should sizzle when the batter hits the oil.
If you don’t have a window in your oven door, don’t open it until well nearly the end of the cooking time otherwise the Yorkshire puddings will sink.
Most Yorkshire puddings are eaten as an accompaniment to a roast. But having it as a sweet pudding also works. I alluded to this in my Yorkshire pudding wraps post, but wanted to share more options in a separate post.
If you’re cooking small Yorkshires, they’ll be great for dipping in sauces. With a larger single pudding to share you can add the sauce or fillings on the side for people to serve themselves, or add it before taking it to the table. I think it’s nice for people to be able to serve themselves.
Traditionally leftover yorkshire puddings would have been eaten the next day with sweet sauces, so making them as a dessert themselves isn’t anything new. But have the cooked batter as a sweet meal is so tasty. You can use the basic yorkshire pudding recipe, but adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract will make them more a sweet than savoury base.
How to reheat leftover Yorkshire puddings
Just pop in the oven to heat through at 220C again. Although you can also pan fry til the leftovers to reheat (my father in law does this to serve with bubble and squeak).
Sweet yorkshire pudding filling ideas
Fillings
Apples
My mother in law makes apple batter pudding which is just like toad in the hole but with apples. Try apple slices in the batter, add a bit of cinnamon to give the autumnal flavour
Pears
Why not swap the apples for quartered pears and also swirl through chocolate chips or chunks to the batter before cooking. A swirl of chocolate sauce poured over once cooked tops it off.
Peaches
Peaches and croissant pudding is delicious, so adding peaches (sliced or chunks) to the batter tastes great. Finishing off with a spoon of creme fraiche or mascarpone.
Cherries
Go french using their Clafoutis idea of cherries in the batter. Or for an easier version, add cherry compote or cherry pie filling on the side to dollop over.
Berries
Try raspberries or blueberries in the pan with your batter. Or just top with these for serving.
Stewed fruit
Instead of cooking apple slices in the batter itself, have stewed cooking apples on the side (or just use tinned apple pie filling or apple sauce. Or go for any seasonal stewed fruit depending on the time of year. Try rhubarb in May-June, or English plums in autumn.
Have a jug of pouring cream or custard at hand to spoon over the fruit. Decadent, but delicious. And definitely a treat dessert. Alternatively a scoop of ice cream will melt nicely. Ooh, throwback to my favourite Little Chef dessert, the Jubilee Pancake with all that cherry filling and ice cream sweetness.
S’mores
Add chocolate chunks to the batter when cooking, then serve with marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched between 2 bits of batter. Drizzle over chocolate sauce on top if needed. Messy but delicious.
You could try adding marshmallows and biscuit chunks to the batter, but I think the hot temperature of the oven would burn the marshmallows.and ruin it. The alternative is just to sprinkle chocolate chips and marshmallows over the top of the batter when it’s nearly cooked to melt them a bit. Then dig in.
Strawberries and cream
Spoon chopped strawberries and lightly whipped cream over.
Bananas and honey
Top with sliced bananas and a drizzle.of honey
French toast style
Once released from the pan, roll in melted butter then dip in a sugar and cinnamon mix.
Dips (or use to drizzle)
If you just want to tear apart a larger yorkshire, or dip smaller ones, then have dips to hand.
- Melted chocolate – treat it like a fondue.
- Double cream
- Warm custard, or at least before it sets
- Softened mascarpone cheese with a little sugar, or fruit coulis swirled through it.
- Fruit compote or jam (just loosen the jam a bit by warming it through in a pan
If you try one of these sweet yorkshire pudding recipe ideas, do let me know how it goes.
What other flavours would you have as sweet Yorkshire pudding fillings or to serve with popovers?
Like this post, try these other tips for nearby days out.
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As a child I remember having leftover Yorkshire pudding’s with jam in and they were always so good. Great ideas! My girls won’t even entertain the idea of sweet Yorkshire pudding’s, they think they’re for roast dinners and that’s it. Eesh! x
My OH won’t eat them either, he won’t even eat toad in the hole. I’ll eat Yorkshire any way they come, as will N