Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
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Ingredients
4 tbsp sunflower oil or lard
3 large onions
8 Cumberland sausages (we used Butcher’s Choice)
a handful of fresh sage leaves
For the batter
125g plain flour
1⁄4 tsp fine sea salt
2 large eggs
175ml whole milk, mixed with 75ml cold water
For the cider gravy
25g butter
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp cider vinegar
300ml cider
300ml beef or chicken stock (made using 1 stock pot or cube)
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
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Make the batter and gravy up to 24 hours ahead. Whisk the batter well before cooking.
Make the batter an hour or more before cooking. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and add a grinding of black pepper. Make a well in the centre, break in the eggs and start to whisk together. Gradually add the milk and water mixture, whisking all the time, until you have a smooth batter. Cover the batter and put in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes before cooking, preferably at least an hour. Batter that is rested and cold will rise better in the oven.
When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7. Add 3 tablespoons of oil or lard to a medium roasting tin (about 20cm x 30cm base measurements) and pop it in the oven for 5 minutes to heat up. Slice 11⁄2 onions thinly, and the remainder thickly, then set aside.
Get the gravy started: melt the butter and 1 tablespoon of oil (or lard) in a large pan, add the thinly sliced onions and cook for 2-3 minutes over a medium-high heat, stirring. Season, then cover the pan and cook gently for 10-15 minutes until very soft.
Meanwhile, add the sausages and thickly sliced onions to the hot roasting tin; cook for 8 minutes.
Returning to the gravy, increase the heat, sprinkle in the sugar and cook the onions for 5-6 minutes until starting to caramelise, stirring occasionally so that they don’t catch.
Remove the batter from the fridge and give it a whisk to re-combine. Remove the hot roasting tin from the oven, scatter in the sage leaves and immediately pour the batter into the tin – it should start to sizzle as it hits the hot fat. Return the tin to the oven as quickly as possible and cook for about 30 minutes until the batter is crisp and well risen. Avoid opening the oven door during cooking, as the batter could collapse.
To finish the gravy, stir the flour into the onions, followed by the cider vinegar. Gradually add the cider, followed by the stock. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the mustard just before serving with the hot toad in the hole.
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Use a metal (or enamel-coated metal) baking tin if possible – a large, reasonably deep dish is best. Using a metal tin means the tin it will get hotter and the heat distribution will be more even. Mine is a rectangular enamel roaster, approx 31cmx25cm and 5cm deep.
Toad in the hole is a traditional British dish comprised of sausages baked into a giant Yorkshire pudding, typically served with an onion gravy. Yorkshire pudding is similar to popovers in the US and Dutch baby pancakes.
Our answer. The batter in a toad in the hole should rise up but will be airy and crisp rather than spongy or cakey. The flour should be plain (all-purpose) flour and not self-raising. However it is most likely that the batter isn't quite cooking properly due to the dish.
Basically it's equal parts eggs flour milk. Originally Answered: Should Yorkshire pudding batter be runny? Yes, the batter should be runny, about the consistency of heavy cream.
Egg in a Basket features an egg fried in the hole of a buttery slice of bread. The dish goes by several other names as well; Americans sometimes call it Toad in the Hole, but that title more properly refers to the traditional English dish of Yorkshire pudding with sausage and onion gravy.
The primary difference lies in the ingredients and concept of the dish. In Britain, toad in the hole recipes refer to sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding batter. On the other hand, the American version typically involves a piece of bread with a hole cut out in the middle for a fried egg.
Toad in the Hole is said to be known as far back as 1787 but the most famous reference is in Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book first published in 1861. There are many old tales of where it got its name with the most popular being that the small sausages or meat bits used in years gone by resembled toads peeking out of a hole.
Elevate your toad-in-the-hole experience with golden brown sausages in a bed of luscious, melting mustardy cheddar cheese, with tender broccoli florets peeking out from between. It's accompanied by a side of steamed greens and topped with a generous ladle of our rich homemade gravy.
I got so fed up with a sausage toad sticking that I now make them separately. I make 2 individual yorkies for the 2 of us in 8 inch cake tins. When cooked they are the perfect container for a couple of sausages, mash, peas (or whatever) and gravy all in the one crispy 'receptacle'.
History. The popover is an American version of Yorkshire pudding and similar batter puddings made in England since the 17th century, The oldest known reference to popovers dates to 1850. The first cookbook to print a recipe for popovers was in 1876.
Toad's English name appears to have been inspired by the word "toadstool", a word used to describe mushrooms, including those featuring umbrella-like cap-and-stem form characteristics, which Toad's design portrays along with the character's general resemblance to a mushroom.
Whilst the toad in the hole is baking DO NOT open the oven door – this will result in your batter deflating. Cook the toad in the hole for about 30 minutes – check through the oven door (look through the glass if you have a glass door) and check it is browned.
One vital tip: don't open the oven while the batter is cooking. If you do, it will collapse and you'll end up with a pancake. And when the toad in the hole looks like it's ready, give it another 5 minutes in the oven – it will be perfect when you take it out.
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Prep time: 30 mins
