11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (2025)

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Never make sunken Yorkshire puddings again

By

Elaine Lemm

11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (1)

Elaine Lemm

Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.

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Updated on 08/12/19

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11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (2)

It's important to use a foolproof recipe forYorkshire pudding.Fresh from the oven the puddings should be well risen, golden brown with a crisp exterior, and have a soft middle. But if it fails to rise, there may be several reasons why—from the oven temperature to the kind of fat used. Look at this cooking tutorial and follow these 10 tips, and you should have puffed-up Yorkshire puddings every time.

Even if you mess up and the puddings have not risen as high as they should, they will still taste pretty good.

  • 01 of 10

    Measure Your Ingredients

    11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (3)

    Always use equal volumes of egg, milk, and all-purpose flour. If you use too much flour, the resulting pudding will be heavy and dense. Without enough egg, there will be insufficient air beaten in for a successful rise. Too much milk will make the batter too loose.

  • 02 of 10

    Mix Thoroughly

    11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (4)

    Thoroughly beat the batter so it's totally free of lumps. If you're not sure the batter is smooth enough, strain it through a sieve before cooking.

  • 03 of 10

    Let the Batter Rest

    11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (5)

    To help puddings rise, let the batter sit for a minimum of 30 minutes—longer if possible (up to several hours is ideal). You can cook the puddings right away, but there is a chance they will not be as big as they should be.

  • 04 of 10

    Use the Right Fat

    11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (6)

    The fats need to reach a high temperature so only use lard, beef drippings, or vegetable oil in the tins and heat in the oven until the fat is smoking. Never useolive oilor butter—these two fats will not reach a high enough temperature without burning.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Then Stir Again

    11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (7)

    After the batter has rested, give it another good whisk to ensure there are no lumps. Add 2 tablespoons of cold water to help cool down the mixture before pouring it into the smoking hot fat.

  • 06 of 10

    Wipe Instead of Washing

    11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (8)

    If you plan to clean your pudding tins before using them, never wash themwith soap and water. This spoils the surface of the tins and can cause the batter to stick and thus prevent puddings from rising. Just wipe the tins clean with a paper towel before and after use.

  • 07 of 10

    Don't Fill to the Rim

    11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (9)

    Filling the tins with batter a third to half full is usually sufficient.If you use too much batter, the puddings will begin to rise but then soon collapse because of the weight.

  • 08 of 10

    Keep Batter Cool and Oven Hot

    11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (10)

    A successful rise will come from the combination of a cold batter going into a veryhot oven.The oven should be as hot as possible—the highest setting your oven can handle (450 F to 500 F) without burning everything to a crisp.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below

  • 09 of 10

    Don't Use Convection

    11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (11)

    If possible, avoid using aconvection oven, as the forced air in a fan oven can sometimes be too strong and cause the puddings to collapse. If you have asettingthat allows you to switch from convection to a regular oven, be sure to make the switch.

  • 10 of 10

    Don't Open the Oven Door

    11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (12)

    Avoid opening the oven door during cooking because the cooler air will make the puddings collapse. Sometimes they make a recovery but will never rise quite as high as they should.

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11 Reasons Why Your Yorkshire Puddings Won't Rise (2025)

FAQs

Why is my Yorkshire pudding not rising enough? ›

The fat must be smoking hot in the pan before you cook the batter. If your Yorkshire pudding tin isn't hot enough before the batter is added, all attempts are destined to flop – so add fat or oil to the tin, and heat in the top of the oven at 230? C for 10 minutes first (and keep it at that temperature when cooking).

How do you make Yorkshire pudding rise higher? ›

Resting the batter overnight is key for developing better flavor. Forget about cold batter: letting it rest at room temperature helps it rise taller as it bakes. A combination of milk and water gives the Yorkshire puddings extra rise and crispness.

Does an extra egg help Yorkshire puddings rise? ›

If you want to go Instagram-ready with sky-high fluffy Yorkshires, add an extra egg white to your batter. They'll tower over the competition. With that in mind, always make sure your Yorkshire puddings have room to rise in the oven.

Does water help Yorkshire puddings rise? ›

Yorkshire pudding batter has just three ingredients – milk, eggs and flour – but the addition of water can make the finished result puffy and light.

Why do my Yorkshire puddings keep going flat? ›

One of the main reasons why Yorkshires don't rise is because the oil isn't hot enough, so make sure it's bubbling and sizzling as you pour your batter in. Make sure you aren't over-filling the tin – fill each hole about a third or halfway up, any more and they may collapse through the weight of batter.

What happens if you put too much milk in Yorkshire puddings? ›

Always use equal volumes of egg, milk, and all-purpose flour. If you use too much flour, the resulting pudding will be heavy and dense. Without enough egg, there will be insufficient air beaten in for a successful rise. Too much milk will make the batter too loose.

Should you let Yorkshire pudding batter rest? ›

While it doesn't need to be cold, your batter should have time to rest. Our no-fail yorkies recipe recommends transferring your batter to a jug after mixing, then leaving it to rest for at least 15 minutes.

What is the raising agent in Yorkshire puddings? ›

The egg element is all the rising agent that a Yorkshire pudding needs in line with the RSC's method. The eggs not only add moisture to the puddings, but bind the batter together and cause the Yorkies to rise when the batter makes contact with the hot oil.

Should Yorkshire pudding batter be thick or runny? ›

What consistency should Yorkshire pudding mix be? For perfect Yorkies, you need a consistency of heavy cream, so really quite runny but not milk-runny. To make sure you achieve this I suggest pouring half of the liquid in and then slowly adding more until you reach the consistency.

Why don't Yorkshire puddings rise with self-raising flour? ›

Using any batter with a raising agent will cause the pudding to rise too quickly and then collapse back on themselves before the gluten has had the time to strengthen the pudding and keep it upright. Use the same cup………. one cup plain flour/one cup milk/one cup of eggs and seasoning.

Does baking powder make Yorkshires rise? ›

No and here is the reason why! It must be plain flour (no baking powder). 1/ High temperature oven. Yorkshire puddings rise due to quick cooking of the flour and steam being formed in the batter mixture, hence the requirement of a very hot oven and hot oil as you pour the batter into the yorkshire pudding tin.

Should you flip Yorkshire puddings? ›

Remember to (carefully) flip

Another top tip from Adam: to avoid soggy bottoms, try flipping your Yorkshire puddings two-or-three minutes before the end of cooking time. It will dry the bottoms out and ensure you get a nice, even crunch.

What is the secret to rising Yorkshire puddings? ›

How do you make Yorkshire puddings rise higher? Let the batter sit. Make sure you rest your batter rest for at least an hour before you cook to ensure a good rise and deliciously light puddings.

Why is my Yorkshire pudding not rising? ›

The fat isn't hot enough (it should be smoking hot). The oven isn't getting hot enough (needs to maintain a 220C/425F temperature). Your oven loses heat too quickly when you open the oven door and/or you leave the oven door open for too long whilst you're filling up the Yorkshire pudding tins with batter.

Can you put too much oil in Yorkshire pudding? ›

When the oil is hot enough, the batter will immediately cook and seal on the outside, allowing them to set and rise properly. The #2 way that Yorkshire Pudding fails, is adding too much oil to the pan.

Why is my pudding not thickening? ›

However, you can add, if, if your rice pudding di or vanilla pudding didn't thicken it is not only because of the kind of milk you used, you generally you need to use some kind of a starch, either arrow root or corn starch.

Why don t Yorkshire puddings rise with self raising flour? ›

Using any batter with a raising agent will cause the pudding to rise too quickly and then collapse back on themselves before the gluten has had the time to strengthen the pudding and keep it upright. Use the same cup………. one cup plain flour/one cup milk/one cup of eggs and seasoning.

Does baking powder help Yorkshire puddings rise? ›

No and here is the reason why! It must be plain flour (no baking powder). 1/ High temperature oven. Yorkshire puddings rise due to quick cooking of the flour and steam being formed in the batter mixture, hence the requirement of a very hot oven and hot oil as you pour the batter into the yorkshire pudding tin.

Why do my Yorkshire puddings have soggy bottoms? ›

Another top tip from Adam: to avoid soggy bottoms, try flipping your Yorkshire puddings two-or-three minutes before the end of cooking time. It will dry the bottoms out and ensure you get a nice, even crunch. But remember to flip them carefully, using a utensil; they'll be boiling hot!

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