For many people, Yorkshire puddings are the centrepiece of a great Sunday roast. Made well, they have the perfect mix of crunch and softness that give that amazing mouth feel while also being perfect for soaking up loads of delicious gravy.

But they are so easy to make and involve just a handful of basic household ingredients mixed together then poured into a bun or muffin tin. Mary Berry has some excellent tips for getting the perfect Yorkshire puds, including using a little more egg and a little less milk than many recipes suggest. Decades of experience, she says, have convinced her that this is the best way to get beautifully-risen Yorkshire puddings.

Another top tip is to ensure your the oil in the tin is piping hot before you add the pudding mix. This is because as soon as the batter is poured into the oil it will set and start to cook, giving you crisp well-risen puds.

And she suggests that resting the Yorkshire pudding batter after mixing it "helps them rise fully during cooking because it allows the gluten to ‘relax’ and relaxed gluten is more stretchy". She advises resting the batter for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours ideally, but adds that it is not essential to the process.

However, there is one crucial thing that you must not do while cooking your Yorkshire puddings — yet it's such an easy mistake to do and takes just a split second. You should never open your oven door while they're cooking! Doing so, even just for a split second, will make your Yorkshire puddings collapse.

So make sure the structure is set and they are a fairly dark golden-brown before removing them from the oven!

Here is a very simple recipe that will give you fantastic Yorkshire puddings every time.

Ingredients

This recipe makes eight large puddings or 24 small ones.

• 140g plain flour
• 4 eggs
• 200ml milk
• sunflower oil, for cooking

Method

1. Heat oven to 230C/fan 210C.
2. Drizzle a little oil evenly into two 4-hole Yorkshire pudding tins (for large puddings) or two 12-hole non-stick muffin tins (for small puddings) and place in the oven to heat through.
3. Tip 140g plain flour into a bowl and beat in 4 eggs until smooth.
4. Gradually add 200ml milk and carry on beating until the mix is completely lump-free. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the batter into a jug, then remove the hot tins from the oven. Carefully and evenly pour the batter into the holes.
6. Place the tins back in the oven and leave undisturbed for 20-25 mins until the puddings have puffed up and browned.