I’m rescuing your Friday with some irresistible food.
Friday food is the best. For some reason, calories don’t seem to count on Fridays, so pizza, cocktails and doughnuts feel mandatory. It’s the weekend’s kickoff and we all have our rituals.
This time I’m adding chocolate to bread that normally wouldn’t have it. Controversial? Maybe. Delicious? Definitely.
Did you ever celebrate St. Nicholas Day? On the morning of December 6th we used to find gold chocolate coins in our shoes. It’s a little odd to think about now — eating something that came out of your shoe — but it was nostalgic. The first December 6th I spent away from home felt weird without the coins. A few weeks ago I saw gold chocolate coins at Trader Joe’s and grabbed them for the memory, though they didn’t quite recreate that childhood thrill.
So instead of putting chocolate in shoes, I put it in popover batter. It’s the same kind of joy, but cleaner.
Yesterday my mom and I did a marathon Christmas shopping day — nearly twelve hours out. I walked miles and carried bags like a pro (and got an unintentional core workout). I capped the night with peppermint bark cheesecake, which was worth the exhaustion.
Despite being wiped out, I’m excited about a batch of holiday cookies I’m finishing up — small victories. I even managed to shop for everyone else without buying anything for myself, which is rare and triumphant. Riding that momentum, I decided to have whipped cream for breakfast.
I’ve made popovers before, but I finally bought a popover pan and it makes a big difference. The popovers rise dramatically in the proper pan — much larger than those baked in a muffin tin.
Worth the purchase? Absolutely. I grabbed mine at Target, but any good popover pan will do.
If you’re not into intensely sweet breakfasts, these are perfect: the popovers themselves aren’t sweet (there’s no sugar in the batter), but dark chocolate chunks add the right amount of richness. The whipped cream is lightly sweetened and spiked with bourbon for a grown-up finish — add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter topping. Fresh or syrupy fruit would also be a lovely addition.
In short: eat these for breakfast, brunch, dinner — or all three.
Dark Chocolate Chunk Popovers with Spiked Whipped Cream
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Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons brown butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk, slightly warm in temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped and tossed in a bit of flour
Spiked Whipped Cream
- 1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush a popover pan (or a muffin pan) with 2 tablespoons of the brown butter.
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Add the eggs to a blender and puree until combined. Add the warmed milk, vanilla, remaining brown butter, flour and salt; blend until smooth.
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Place the pan in the oven and heat for 5 minutes. Remove it and pour the batter into the tins, filling them three-quarters full. Add half of the chopped chocolate to the batter in the tins. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes without opening the oven.
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When the popovers are done, remove them and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate. Let them cool slightly before serving with whipped cream.
Spiked Whipped Cream
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Add the cold heavy cream and bourbon to the bowl of a mixer. Beat on low, then increase to high until soft peaks form. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla until the cream is thick and holds peaks. Serve with warm popovers.
Notes
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Gah! So fluffy!