"These have never failed me. And I've never changed the recipe - this is how I learned to do them growing up in Yorkshire and I do think, if it ain't broke..." 

Golden, puffy and delicious. The staple for the classic Sunday roast, a vessel for rich gravy and the hole to the toad – what's not to love about a Yorkshire pudding? 

Dating back to the early 18th century, these delicious batter puddings have been with us a long time – and yet they still have us cursing their names when they don't rise, when the flavour's not quite right and when they look nothing like the pictures.

Luckily Shaun Rankin, celebrated Head Chef at his Michelin-starred restaurant Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall, located in the rolling hills of the Yorkshire countryside, has all the oven-worthy answers. A true Yorkshire native, Shaun learnt how to perfect his pudding recipe in the family home with his mum – and it's truly served the test of time as it's still the recipe he uses to this day both at home and in his restaurant. 

Ingredients
• 4 large eggs
• 250ml milk
• 250g plain flour
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper
​​• 2 sprigs of thyme 
• 1 tbsp beef dripping

Method
1 Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the milk.
2 Sift the flour into the bowl and whisk well.
3 Pour the mix through a fine sieve into a clean bowl. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
4 Scrape the thyme leaves from the stems and the leaves to the batter mixture. Stir well, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for 24 hours.
5 Remove the batter from the fridge about 30 minutes before you need to use and stir well.
6 Preheat the oven to 220C and heat a 24 x 12cm deep Yorkshire Pudding tin until very hot.
7 Add the beef dripping to the tin and place back in the oven for further 5 minutes.
8 Pour the Yorkshire Pudding mix into the hot fat in the tin. Put back in the oven straight away.
9 Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and doubled in size. Then turn down the oven to 120C and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Recipe and image courtesy of Shaun Rankin, Head Chef of Grantley Hall