If you find yourself craving popovers with some regularity, as we do, investing in a real popover pan eventually starts to feel quite justifiable. These tins are really only useful for making popovers, but oh, what beautiful popovers they make!
Popover pans are distinguished from regular muffin tins by their deep, steep-sided wells. This forces the batter upwards and results in a popover with a puffy dome and crispy sides.
Many popover pans have the cups welded to a wire rack. While this looks odd, it promotes even circulation of air and heat around the tins. Most are also made from heavy steel or cast aluminum coated with a nonstick surface. We hear that seasoned cast iron makes the very best popovers, but these pans can only to be found by eagle-eyed shoppers at thrift stores and garage sales these days.
If you're in the market, take a look at these pans:
• Nordicware Popover Pan from Sur la Table ($34 for regular-sized or mini)
• Nonstick Popover Pan from Williams-Sonoma ($19.95)
More on popovers:
• Easy Ethereal Popovers
• Giant Cheese Popovers
• Popover Report: Why Can't You Open the Oven Door?
• Honey Butter: Perfect with Popovers (And A Lot More!)
• David Lebovitz Turns Popovers Into Sugary Puffs
Do you own a popover tin? Do you think one is necessary?
Related: Good Question: Replace Metal Pans with Silicone?
(Image: Sur La Table)
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I have two sets of those one for popovers and the other is for yorkshire puddings. So I suppose they are not a unitasker - but I don't clean the yorkshire pudding ones the same way.
My popover pan is admittedly a unitasker, but I tried making popovers in a cupcake pan once and it just wasn't the same (and definitely not worth repeating). Seeing as I love popovers, and guests really enjoy them as well, I thought it was worth the expense - and the storage space in my teeny kitchen! Plus, I always have all the ingredients for them on hand and they take no prep time, which makes them great for throwing together last minute. They really add something special to an ordinary salad, soup, or even fancier dinner at home.
I was just at Ikea and they have these odd, tall muffin tins. I didn't get them because I thought it would be tricky to find cupcake liners to fit them (at anyplace other than Ikea). But I wonder if they'd work just as well as a popover pan--or if popover pans need to be made out of heavier stuff?
I've never owned a popover pan so I just use my standard cupcake pan. My popovers always turn out right and look exactly like those in the picture. I'd be happy to get a popover pan but won't go out of my way to spend the money on one when it isn't necessary.
I have my Mom's cast iron muffin pan which makes great popovers, although the ones in the middle are a bit lower and denser (but just as tasty).
I gave to popover-loving friends a stoneware muffin pan (with the theory that with a good preheat, it makes a better popover), and tested it, found it to be 2 popovers short for the recipe, and then included 2 ramekins in the gift. Made perfect popovers, even in the ramekins!
I agree with BlessedBlogger, my popovers are made in a muffin pan and have always come out looking big and poofy just like the ones made in popover pans, only with a slightly bigger base. It just seemed silly to me to get a pan that was so unitask
Sign me up with everyone else. I use a muffin pan for my popovers. They always seemed to turn out fine. Because of that I've never seen a need to buy a popover pan.
I don't think even professionals use special pans...
I loved my mini-popover pan until the non-stick coating started peeling off (so gross! I've really come to hate non-stick). But the pan nearly made it a full decade. It was not quite a unitasker though! I used it regularly not just for popovers but for friands, bouchons, and crotins as well. Plus those delicious sugared popovers from David Lebovitz/NYT, so good!
I'll give muffin tins a go with these testimonials. I'd be ecstatic if they yielded the same results but I know the bouchons will definitely not look as charming.
Not necessary! I make mine in oven-safe coffee cups (see here).
Little late here but just wanted to say that I make popovers and yorkshire puddings in my popover tins all the time and love them. But I also make muffins in my popover tins. I get bigger muffins than with my muffin tins, and with a nice tender crust all around. Only problem is they don't stand up.