This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks: Hometown Cooking in New England, a collection of recipes from community cookbooks from all over New England. I’m not quite sure why these are considered “Maine Popovers” since the recipe is from a group called the Ladies’ Benevolent Society from Andover, Massachusetts. Perhaps these ladies have tried the popovers at Jordan Pond House in Acadia National Park while visiting Vacationland?
Both the cat (lower right) and I waited in anticipation as these popovers baked with their eggy, buttery scent filling the kitchen. I was a bit disappointed that this batch didn’t “pop over” the edges of the custard cups as much as I had hoped they would. Perhaps I overmixed the batter, or should have preheated the custard cups, or used a different type of pan. (I didn’t want to buy a popover pan, so I opted for custard cups since those were mentioned in the recipe I tried.)
One thing is for sure, I certainly did not butter the custard cups enough, as removing the popovers from them felt like minor surgery. While I cannot claim this kitchen adventure to be a true success, the popovers that resulted were hollow and had the slightly crispy texture I expect to bite into when enjoying a popover. They certainly tasted right, fresh from the oven with a little butter…
