Sweet and savory popovers are an irresistible brunch dish

I had a run-in with popovers on Thanksgiving Day 2010. I thought it’d be great to try my hand at pumpkin popovers for the first time ever on a day when I was trying to cook about 15 other things simultaneously. Not my brightest idea ever.

Here’s the thing about popovers: They’re a little finicky. You absolutely cannot open the oven while they’re baking (something I did about 10 times as I was warming up other side dishes for our Thanksgiving spread), and you really have to preheat the tin, whether it’s a muffin tin or a legitimate popover tin. Nothing crazy, but breaking either of these rules will result in a deflated, mushy mess, not a light, puffy, doughy inside, crispy outside piece of baked good perfection like they should be.

These popovers are a great balance of savory and sweet. With thyme and goat cheese in the popovers and a sweet mixed berry sauce to serve with them, they’re an absolutely irresistible bite and worth the extra effort.

Goat cheese and thyme popovers with mixed berry sauce recipe

Puffy, crisp, doughy and savory popovers are served with a sweet mixed berry sauce, making them great for any time of day.

Yields 9

Prep time: 10 minutes | Bake time: 27 minutes | Total time: 37 minutes

Ingredients:

For the popovers

• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 ounce goat cheese
• Butter or coconut oil, for greasing

For the mixed berry sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. To a blender, add the milk, eggs and butter. Blend for 30 seconds on high until well blended.
3. Add the flour, salt and thyme to the blender, and blend again on high for about 1 minute, until well blended and bubbly.
4. Place a muffin tin in the oven for 2 minutes to heat.
5. Remove the muffin tin, and grease 9 cups with a generous amount of butter or coconut oil. Make sure to grease up the sides of each cup as well. Using a paper towel to do this is easiest, since the muffin tin will be hot.
6. Turn the blender on for 10 seconds just to blend the mixture again.
7. Pour the batter into each muffin cup about halfway up.
8. Add the goat cheese crumbles to the middle of each cup. Pour the remaining batter on top of each cup to cover the goat cheese.
9. Place the muffin tin in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake for another 12 minutes. Do not open the oven at all during baking time, or the popovers will deflate.
10. While the popovers bake, make the berry sauce by adding the butter to a small saucepot over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the berries, and simmer over medium, stirring occasionally until the berries are broken down. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water, add the mixture to the saucepot, and stir. Remove from the heat, and set aside.
11. Remove the popovers from the oven, and let them cool for 2 to 3 minutes in the tin. Remove the popovers from the tin, and place them on a cooling rack.
12. Serve the popovers warm with the mixed berry sauce.

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