Yorkshire pudding is cooked by pouring batter into a greased baking tin, and baking at a very high heat until it has risen.

As I am used to it (the traditional manner), it is cooked in a large tin underneath a roasting joint of meat, in order to catch the juices that drip down, and then cut appropriately (that involved big slices for me…. much more than the roast beef it was served with!)

More and more though all you see (especially in restaurants) are individual round puddings (baked in bun trays) but these are a pale imitation—with little or none of the real flavour you should expect.

Alternatively, Yorkshire pudding may also be made in the same pan as the meat, after the meat has been cooked and moved to a serving platter, which also takes advantage of the meat’s juices that are left behind.

Although some claim that the reason for the pudding was to provide “bulk” as a precourse to the more expensive meat course, I have trouble with this as an explanation… given the English propensity to overcook meat… I think the flavour of the yorkshire pudding was the only reason to have the roast beef dinner!