Pantry Popovers

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Liberally grease each cup of 2 standard 6-cup or 1 standard 12-cup muffin tin(s) with some of the melted butter.

Step 2

Make the batter: Sift the flour into a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk and salt in a smaller bowl until blended. Pour the egg mixture and melted butter into the flour. Gently stir to combine, breaking up any big lumps. (Don't stress over small lumps of flour.)

Step 3

Bake: Fill each cup in the muffin tins about three-quarters of the way full. Place the tins in the center of the oven and bake for 12 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until the popovers develop a nice brown color, are cooked through and feel crusty, an additional 10 to 12 minutes. (Opening the oven door while popovers bake increases the chance they will deflate, so look through the window but don't give in to temptation!

Step 4

Finish: Remove the tins from the oven and pierce the tops with the tip of a small knife to allow steam to escape as they cool. Turn the popovers out on a wire rack. Serve immediately with Spiced Pear Jam and Sesame Butter.

Step 5

Combine the pears, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and 1 cup cool water in a medium pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the pears start to break down, 10 to 12 minutes. (The liquid should be fairly thick and will thicken some more as it cools.) Let cool completely.

Step 6

Prepare a medium bowl of ice water. Whip the heavy cream and sour cream together gradually in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Increase the speed of the mixer and continue whipping until the cream separates and the mixture thickens.

Step 7

Use a rubber spatula to gather up the butter and remove it from the bowl. There will be some liquid that is a natural result of this process, which is actually buttermilk. You can reserve this and use as you would regular buttermilk. Gather the ball of butter together in a double-layer of cheesecloth or a thin kitchen towel and plunge it into the bowl of ice water to wash any buttermilk off the surface.

Step 8

Place the sesame seeds and salt in a medium bowl and use a rubber spatula to mix the seeds and salt into the butter. Pack the butter into a bowl or roll it into a ball or log shape using plastic wrap. Use immediately at room temperature or store, covered, in the refrigerator.