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Sweet Cheese w/Lavender Chocolate Popovers

Source of Recipe

net
Makes 12 popovers

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose (unbleached) flour
½ teaspoon fleur de sel
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground white, green and red peppercorns
Generous pinch (about 1 heaping teaspoon) finely chopped fresh herbs (If substituting dried herbs, use about ¼ teaspoon. To release the aromatic qualities, rub the dried herbs between your fingers before adding to the mixture.)
2 cups milk, at room temperature
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon butter, melted, plus additional for greasing popover pan (or use vegetable oil)
1 heaping tablespoon cheese chunks, cut into 1/8” dice (see variations below)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425° F (see Chef’s Note). Brush a nonstick popover or large muffin pan with melted butter. Place the pan in the oven while preheating.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, fleur de sel, pepper, baking powder, and herbs. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. In a larger bowl, whisk together the milk and melted butter to combine. Combine the eggs with the milk and butter.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently whisk until combined. Your batter should be the consistency of heavy cream. Take care not to over-whisk when combining ingredients. Allow to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes, or up to 1 hour. Can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight. Allow to come to room temperature before proceeding.

Pour the batter into the prepared and heated pan to within about 1/4 inch of the rim. Drop the chopped cheese in the center of each filled cup.

Bake for 20 minutes at 425° F. Make sure you do not open the oven door during this time or the steam will escape and you will lose the “pop” effect. Reduce the temperature to 350° F and continue to bake until the popovers are brown, crusty and puffed, about 20 minutes more.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately, or let cool on wire racks and hold at room temperature for up to 4 hours. When ready to serve, reheat in a 350° F oven for about 10 minutes.

[Chef’s Note: If your oven is accurate, you can push the heat to 450° F for the preheat and initial baking time. The extra heat will help to create a super-crispy crust. Watch the popovers carefully, though; the heat may need to be reduced at 15 minutes if your popovers are becoming too browned. Again, an accurate oven is a must.]

Sweet Cheese with Lavender and Chocolate: Prepare the sweet cheese: Combine 2 ounces of cream cheese and 4 ounces of mascarpone cheese (both at room temperature) in a bowl. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar (to taste) and mix well to combine. Set aside. Coarsely chop 4 ounces of dark (semi-sweet or dark) chocolate and set aside. When preparing the popover batter, omit the pepper and add ½ teaspoon sugar. For the milk addition to the batter: Add 1 teaspoon lavender to cold milk and warm gently (until you see bubbles just starting to appear around the rim of the pan). Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain the lavender from the milk and proceed with the recipe. When you remove the heated popover tin from the oven, just before filling each cup with batter, sprinkle the inside of the cup with a generous pinch of sugar. Add the batter. Drop rounded teaspoons of the sweet cheese into each cup. Bake as instructed. When the popovers come out of the oven, place in a warmed serving bowl, and slice the popover open. Spoon 1 teaspoon of the chopped chocolate into the center of the popover and serve immediately.