This is a childhood memory of Yorkshire pudding, from the 1930s written by Audrey Ely-Booth in 1984 for the Dalesman magazine:

‘Dad always wanted roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on Sundays, except at Christmas when a bird of one sort or another was our repast. We girls were more than happy with this decision and would hover around mum, no doubt getting under her feet.’

‘We took it in turns to beat up the pudding mixture … no electric blenders for us, just a large table fork and a lot of patience as we slowly added the flour to the egg, milk and water.’

‘The fire oven, by now well and truly stoked up, would cause spitting and popping noises to emit from within as the large joint of beef gave up some of its juices and mingled with the beef dripping. Potatoes grown in the garden at the back of the house, peeled and prepared before church going, would soon be joining the meat where they would take on lovely shades of gold to brown. Vegetables, also home grown, would vary with the seasons. Some Sundays we had creamed potatoes, beaten to a light fluffy consistency with milk, butter, pepper and salt.’

‘Soon the moment we had been waiting for arrived. Clutching a good thick cloth the oven would be opened by mum, and into it placed four seven inch round sandwich tins each bearing a small mound of beef dripping. The tins would be left in the oven until the fat melted and smoked slightly blue, not burnt mind you, just extremely hot.’

‘Meanwhile the pudding mixture received its final beating. Mum insisted it was important to get as much air as possible into the plain flour mixture. Quick as a flash, the tins would be out of the oven, half the mixture shared equally between the four tins, and back into the oven before losing any of their precious heat.’

‘By this time the joint was resting on its dish prior to carving, the rich brown gravy brought to boiling point and four warmed dinner plates laid out to receive their ambrosial offerings.  Hair combed and hands washed, Marjorie and I would sit up at the table like two young greyhounds waiting for the “off” ‘.

At last, the first course was set in front of us, a large, light as air, slightly crisp at the edges, true Yorkshire pudding, and a stream of delicious gravy poured into the centre.’

This, of course, is the traditional way to eat Yorkshire pudding – a separate course followed by the beef and vegetables, but mum with love and understanding of our requests for more, would repeat the process of the pudding baking with the other half of the mixture, timing them to be eaten with our main course. Mm! Delicious!’

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Source (including line drawing):  Dalesman, ‘Yorkshire Puddings, Indeed!’, July 1984, pp.308-9.

See also: A History of Yorkshire Pudding