11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (2024)

Never make sunken Yorkshire puddings again

Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.

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Updated on 08/12/19

11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (2)

It's important to use a foolproof recipe forYorkshire pudding.Fresh from the oven the puddings should be well risen, golden brown with a crisp exterior, and have a soft middle. But if it fails to rise, there may be several reasons why—from the oven temperature to the kind of fat used. Look at this cooking tutorial and follow these 10 tips, and you should have puffed-up Yorkshire puddings every time.

Even if you mess up and the puddings have not risen as high as they should, they will still taste pretty good.

01 of 10
Measure Your Ingredients

Always use equal volumes of egg, milk, and all-purpose flour. If you use too much flour, the resulting pudding will be heavy and dense. Without enough egg, there will be insufficient air beaten in for a successful rise. Too much milk will make the batter too loose.
02 of 10
Mix Thoroughly

Thoroughly beat the batter so it's totally free of lumps. If you're not sure the batter is smooth enough, strain it through a sieve before cooking.
03 of 10
Let the Batter Rest

To help puddings rise, let the batter sit for a minimum of 30 minutes—longer if possible (up to several hours is ideal). You can cook the puddings right away, but there is a chance they will not be as big as they should be.
04 of 10
Use the Right Fat

The fats need to reach a high temperature so only use lard, beef drippings, or vegetable oil in the tins and heat in the oven until the fat is smoking. Never useolive oilor butter—these two fats will not reach a high enough temperature without burning.
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05 of 10
Then Stir Again

After the batter has rested, give it another good whisk to ensure there are no lumps. Add 2 tablespoons of cold water to help cool down the mixture before pouring it into the smoking hot fat.
06 of 10
Wipe Instead of Washing

If you plan to clean your pudding tins before using them, never wash themwith soap and water. This spoils the surface of the tins and can cause the batter to stick and thus prevent puddings from rising. Just wipe the tins clean with a paper towel before and after use.
07 of 10
Don't Fill to the Rim

Filling the tins with batter a third to half full is usually sufficient.If you use too much batter, the puddings will begin to rise but then soon collapse because of the weight.
08 of 10
Keep Batter Cool and Oven Hot

A successful rise will come from the combination of a cold batter going into a veryhot oven.The oven should be as hot as possible—the highest setting your oven can handle (450 F to 500 F) without burning everything to a crisp.
Continue to 9 of 10 below
09 of 10
Don't Use Convection

If possible, avoid using aconvection oven, as the forced air in a fan oven can sometimes be too strong and cause the puddings to collapse. If you have asettingthat allows you to switch from convection to a regular oven, be sure to make the switch.
10 of 10
Don't Open the Oven Door

Avoid opening the oven door during cooking because the cooler air will make the puddings collapse. Sometimes they make a recovery but will never rise quite as high as they should.