Top tips on better batter, cooking techniques and cooling time, to ensure a reliable vegan yorkie every time

I can never get my vegan yorkshire puddings to work – help!
Traditional yorkshire puddings have eggs and milk to thank for their golden, crisp and puffy looks, so it’s no wonder people run into bother in their absence. “Vegan yorkshires are a mighty task,” says Lianna Lee Davis, who is behind the much-lauded vegan Sunday roast at Our Black Heart in Camden, London. Your first task is to decide on their replacements, and for that you have a few options. “I use aquafaba and whisk it with apple cider vinegar, rapeseed oil, dijon mustard, unsweetened soya milk and water,” she says. She then combines plain flour, chickpea flour, salt and turmeric (“for a bit of colour”), and whisks that into the wet mix to make a batter.

Marc Joseph, of E3 Vegan, meanwhile, prefers a combination of soya milk, baking powder and self-raising flour: “I’ve tried all sorts of things,” he says, “and baking powder gives the best results.” Once mixed with the flour and popped into a really hot oven, “they rise quickly like a cake at the start, so, by the time they’re cooked, you have really crisp edges”. That’s also Gaz Oakley’s preferred route. For 12 yorkshire puddings, the author of Plant to Plate, published in May, combines 260g self-raising flour, one and a half teaspoons of baking powder and a teaspoon of salt. “Add 480ml soya milk, whisk until smooth, then pour into a jug.” Just like the OG, vegan yorkies also benefit from a rest, Joseph says: “Make the batter at least 30 minutes before you want to use it.”

Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com

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