A few weeks ago I took the train out to Philadelphia to see the Phillies face off against the San Francisco Giants. But before I could cheer on my favorite RHP, I knew I had to make the most of my 24-hour visit and grab a table at one of Philly’s culinary landmarks: Barclay Prime.
Visions of stadium soft pretzels were quickly eclipsed by the golden brown glory set down on the bread plate in front of me. Eggy, cheesy, and piping hot, Barclay Prime’s gruyere and chive popovers were softball-sized and begging for a slathering of butter. I tore off a crunchy corner and a wisp of steam escaped, exposing an airy interior and an aroma of melted gruyere.
I’ve been on a mission to recreate the popovers in my own kitchen, and sure enough, this past weekend my entire apartment swelled with the scent of melted butter, chopped fresh chives and freshly grated gruyere. If savory isn’t your thing, swing over to my Popovers with Whipped Strawberry Butter for a fruit-filled take on the ultimate dinner roll substitute.
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Ingredients
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 6 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups (lightly packed) shredded Gruyere cheese, separated
- 2 Tablespoons minced fresh chives
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk just until bubbles form around the edges.
- Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy, and then slowly whisk the warm milk into the eggs, whisking constantly so eggs don't cook. Whisk in the flour mixture just until combined, then whisk in 1 cup of the cheese and the chives.
- Place the popover pan in the oven for 2 minutes to heat. Remove it and add a pat of butter to each cup. Once the butter has melted, portion the batter into the cups, filling each about ¾ full. Top with a portion of the remaining cheese.
- Bake the popovers for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300ºF, and continue baking about 10 more minutes. (See Kelly's Notes.)
- Remove the popovers from the oven and serve warm.
Kelly's Notes:
- When measuring flour, never scoop the cup into the flour, as it condenses the flour and causes you to use more than the recipe intends. Instead, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it with a knife.
- The key to perfectly puffed popovers is to keep the oven closed during the entire baking process. As tempting as it is to peek, keep that door shut!
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Delicia! Delicia! ❣️
Your Chive and Gruyere Pop-Overs;
What size pan?
Roger
Hi Roger! I use a classic popover pan but you can also use a muffin pan with my Muffin Pan Popovers recipe, which you can search for here on the site.
Airy and flavorful. I greased the pan to ensure they wouldn’t stick. Looking forward to serving these at my holiday dinner.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Lesley!
Hi,
The Reel Club Restaurant (Lettuce Entertain ) Grp – serve a cheesy popover but it is about 1 1/2 inches by about 2 inches in size. Can these be made smaller? Any idea on how to adjust cooking time?
There’s are also have a more cheddar-like flavor could that be substituted for the Guyere? Same proportion?
Next time you’re in Philly, hit up Sbraga for their truffle gruyere popovers. I am going to try tweaking your recipe to recreate them . . . Thanks!
just finished baking these. thank goodness they were a “test” run for a later dinner party. I have made many popovers in my lifetime. These,while smelled wonderful baking and did have a good taste were not the best. They were very dense, not airy at all. Very disappointing recipe! They did not pop over the pan as expected.
Hi Shirley, I’m sorry you had issues with this recipe. I’ve made them many times without any problems so I’m not sure what could’ve gone wrong.
mine stuck in the pans! why .i was so disappointed. was a bit of butter in each cup enough?
Hi LoriMae, I’m sorry yours stuck! I’ve never had issues with the batter sticking, as the butter will grease the sides. Is your pan nonstick?
I followed the recipe to a T and I thought they tasted very floury…I have never had a popover, but I will never make them again. Very disappointed thought they were going to be amazing.
I’m making these babies as soon as my popover pan arrives in the mail. I will be adding some black pepper to the dry mix as I was inspired by a restaurant in Austin covered on food networks dd&d.
Did you bake these is in a regular sized popover pan or the mini? What’s the difference in cooking time/method?? These look amazing!!
Sounds n looks yummy, gonna make them this Sunday for the Steelers n Ravens game…
Thank you for the AMAZING recipe!! I made these tonight with a few changes…I didn’t have whole milk or gruyere cheese so I used 1% milk and cheddar cheese instead. I also didn’t have a popover tray and used a muffin tray instead. They popped up no problem and tasted SOOO GOOD! Not dense at all :)
These look amazing and I think I am going to make them for Thanksgiving. We’re have close to 30 people… do you think I can make these a day ahead and warm in the oven prior to serving?
The popovers will lose their “pop” and really are best served straight from the oven, so I wouldn’t advise making them ahead of time. Hope this helps!
Kelly…i don’t have a pop over pan…can i use a regular muffin pan and do i need to adjust the cooking time or temperature…this is the same pan that i use when i make Yorkshire Puddings…thanks
There is nothing wrong with scooping the measuring up into the flour. The difference in spooning the flour into the mixing bowl is insignificant.
All-purpose or Self Rising flour?
All-purpose!
I need these in my life. Seriously!! They are so pretty, Kelly!
These popovers look so darn awesome! I still don’t own a popover pan, but it’s now officially on my list of must-buy kitchen gear. Just so I can attempt popovers like these… I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution as always). Thank you so much for keeping me inspired with such delicious creations…
These sound so delicious! I just love chives! I really need to get myself a popover pan.
Do you need a popover pan to make these or can you do them in a muffin tin?
Thanks!
Hi Allyson! I haven’t tried making this recipe in a regular muffin pan, so unfortunately I cannot say with certainty that it will work. If you did try it, my guess is that the popovers wouldn’t puff as much and would be more dense. Still tasty in flavor, but definitely much heavier. Hope this helps!
these look so perfect and delicious!! stunning photography, as always Kelly! I can’t wait to see you next :)
Stunning photos, Kelly. I can practically smell these through my screen! And it was so great to see you this weekend, can’t wait for the next time!!
I adore popovers! These need to make their way to my table asap!
Love popovers so much. Like you said, crispy buttery, and I’ll add amazing goodness. I learned to make these in Culinary school, we made them just like these but added bacon. These look so perfect, I could really go for one now. And so cool you got to go eat at the place you wanted to, I have heard great things.
These look amazing, Kelly! I need to remember about popovers when I’m thinking about bread options – such a great alternative to regular dinner rolls.
I. Am. Dying. For. These.
I live footsteps away from Barclay Prime. Yum.
Your Popovers look amazing – I’ve gotta try them soon!
I am so jealous, Jen! The popovers were just the start to an unbelievable meal at Barclay Prime. Counting down until I can return!
your descriptions are beautiful! my mouth is watering!
Thank you, Jenny! They were definitely a highlight of the meal.