Tart Cherry and Date Popovers
As I write this, it’s Tuesday night, and I SHOULD be packing for my trip to California. I’m heading out to Monterey to see where my Dole Salad comes from…and as you can imagine, I can’t wait!!
As for packing, alas, I can not possibly leave you all without a Popover Recipe. You are expecting one, I know. So packing will have to wait. (Look at me, taking one for the team.)
This week’s Popover recipe is a different one for me. Different in many, many ways. First – it has dried fruits in it. I don’t think I’ve offered you one of those before. Plus, one of the fruits is dates. I know for a fact I have never presented you a recipe including dates. So there’s that. I used Bob’s Red Mill brand – and they were SO good. I kept popping those tart cherries in my mouth as I whipped up the batter – it was addictive! So, in case you didn’t know it – Bob’s not only makes flour, they have a great selection of dried fruits.
But I digress. The biggest difference this week? I baked these popovers in my microwave.
Yes, really.
As you may know, I have been renovating my kitchen for the last millenium few months, installing some new cabinetry, new countertops, and of course, new appliances from KitchenAid. One of the new appliances is a gorgeous stainless steel microwave slash convection oven that – to put it mildly – I have fallen in love with. We’re just getting to know one another, but I think it’s going to be a long and meaningful relationship.
Despite the attraction, even though it says it’s an oven, I have a hard time buying it. An oven? Call me old fashioned, but come on. Microwaves are for reheating leftovers, making popcorn, and catching poptart wrappers on fire. NOT for baking.
But I had to try it.
I pushed around on the buttons on the computerized screen. Bake. Temp. 375. Start Preheat.
13 minutes later, the microwave was to temperature (weird, but true), and in went the popovers. I closed the door and walked away, expecting a soupy mess upon my return.
I was wrong. (That hardly ever happens.)
It baked! It popped over! It tasted great, which means…success! The only difference I noted was that the tops did not brown. However, that’s something I can live with. Small price to pay to have a microwave that BAKES and looks pretty.
Go KitchenAid, it’s your birthday…
Now, you may not have this fancy space-age contraption in your own home, so, feel free to use your oven. Or your toaster oven. They’ll work just fine! (Do NOT use your toaster toaster, though. I can’t recommend that.)
Just make them!
Tart Cherry and Date Popovers
Ingredients
1 cup milk
3 eggs
5 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Pinch salt
1 cup all purpose flour
Few dried tart cherries
1/4 cup dried dates
3 tablespoons butter
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F. Divide the butter into the cups of your Pop Over Pan. (If you don’t own one, you can use a muffin tin, but you will need to use all 12 cups. Just divide the butter up evenly) Place the pan in the oven for 3-5 minutes while you are making the batter.
Beat eggs with milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Stir in flour until combined. Pour batter into each butter filled cup, then add cherries and dates to each before baking.
Bake at 375 for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 for 25 additional minutes. Serve immediately with favorite syrup and whipped cream, if desired.
Disclaimer: KitchenAid supplied these appliances in my kitchen, but I was not paid for my opinion. All thoughts are 100% my own.
