Spicy Hersheys Chocolate Popovers with Salted Dulce de Leche
Happy Thursday kids!!
I’m currently in Pennsylvania – Hershey, Pennsylvania! – and today is supposed to be a record high temperature. Like, nearly one hundred degrees.
Yay.
Perfect kind of day to be traipsing over asphalt and 4 year olds, riding the rides of Hershey Park, right? Of course it is! Later tonight, after the sun has cooked me, I’ll be crawling into a glorious bed at the luxurious Hotel Hershey…so why not get crazy tired??
While I am here in town, I really didn’t want to work. Of course, I will, but that’s beside the point. I still wanted help! Therefore, I enlisted Mary of Chattavore to guest post a new Popover here today, and of course, it had to contain Hershey Chocolate!
Thanks so much, Mary…these look fantastic!
I doubt that I’ll ever forget the first popover that I ever ate. Believe it or not, I was 28 years old before that first taste, at the rehearsal dinner for a friend’s wedding at a restaurant in Boston. My husband and I were both instantly won over by the rich, eggy, yet light as air wonder-muffin. Somehow, I forget to make them at home….just a couple of attempts at plain old popovers and one at mini Yorkshire puddings (which failed to “pop” but were delicious anyway).
I had never even thought about popovers as a breakfast food before reading Doughmesstic. Good grief-why not??? It seems like a perfect match. I was enthralled with Susan’s creativity at combining all manner of sweet ingredients to create the perfect breakfast bread. The challenge of a chocolate popover was intriguing. Regardless of the flavor combination that I would ultimately decide on, there was one thing that was non-negotiable in my mind….this popover needed to be deep, dark chocolate.
After going back and forth between spicy chocolate and chocolate-orange, spicy won out in the end. The combination of cayenne, cinnamon, and nutmeg mimics the flavor profile of a Mexican hot chocolate. Now, I have a rather timid palate where spice is concerned, but the spice in this recipe was perfect for me….just enough to feel a tingle on the back of my tongue but not enough to ruin the experience for me. We recently purchased a spicy cocoa mix at a spice store and I couldn’t drink it. Even my husband, who regularly declares that spicy foods that make me cry are “not hot enough” didn’t quite get to the bottom of his mug.
In keeping with the Latin theme of the popovers, I decided to pair these with a dulce de leche that I found in a can in the international food section right in the grocery store down the street (my point is, it’s not an “exotic”, unattainable ingredient). I microwaved it to warm it and make it a little more, er, flexible (it’s very thick!) and added a little salt. Word of warning: don’t microwave it in a tiny bowl, even for a few seconds! How do I know? There’s now a layer of dulce de leche waiting to be cleaned off the bottom of my microwave! It’s still thick-i.e. not pourable-after microwaving, so I spread it under the popovers instead.
Spicy Hersheys Chocolate Popovers with Salted Dulce de Leche
Makes 6 in a full-size popover pan or 12 in a mini popover pan or muffin pan
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cocoa (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (I prefer freshly ground)
- 1/8-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste (I used ¼ teaspoon)
- Dulce de Leche or caramel sauce
- Salt to taste
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Divide the butter between the popover cups. When you are almost ready to make the popovers, place the pan in the oven for 3-5 minutes.
2. Mix the flour, cocoa, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk, buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla in another (larger) bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet, then add the cayenne a little at a time, tasting to check the heat (if you are brave, you can just add it to the other dry ingredients).
3. Divide the batter between the heated popover cups. Place in the oven for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes more.
4. When the popovers are almost finished baking, place the desired amount of dulce de leche or caramel sauce in a large saucepan and heat to thin it out a bit. Add salt to taste. Alternately, you can microwave it, but be sure to use a bowl that is much larger than the amount of sauce you are using.
5. Immediately remove the popovers from the pan and serve with the salted dulce de leche, whipped cream, and a little grated cinnamon and nutmeg.
