Toad in the hole - full proof Yorkshire pudding recipe

I love Yorkshire pudding! Yet it has to be said that the Yorkshire pudding has never loved me. No matter what I did, they would never rise to the occasion . Sunday roasts were always missing those special little fluffy clouds of puffed up batter. Golden, crispy and ready to soak up all the delicious juices and gravy. If I had learnt this little secret before Christmas, our Christmas dinner would have been (dare I say it?)  complete. Click here to see the best rare roast beef recipe. 

So, not last night but the night before, I bought some lovely sausages. When I got home I found out that we didn't have any potatoes. What's a boy to do? I am not sure what came over me, but I could see these bangers sitting inside some crunchy Yorkshires! I didn't even flinch. You have to understand I used to break out in a sweat at the thought of trying to make these bad boys! After hunting through the cook books, I turned to good old Google. It turns out that Yorkshire pudding is very easy to make. Turns out we had the best Yorkshire pudding I have had in a long time. They were wonderful the next day as well. 

The secret is not to weigh the ingredients but to go by volume. You must have the same volume of each of the three main ingredients (plain flour, eggs and milk). Take two glasses exactly the same size. Crack two eggs in the the first glass (this should make about 18 mini Yorkshire 12 cupcake sizes). Add the plain flour to the second glass and make sure the level of flour is the same as the level of egg, now for the milk. Tip the flour in to a bowl and measure the milk. Now add the egg and milk to the flour and beat the batter. Season with salt and pepper. 

It is always best to let your batter stand for 10min to an hour. This will give you time now to start the sausages in the oven. 

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Prepare your sausages and pop them in the oven. I added some onion to the bottom of my roasting dish (not sure I would do this again. The sausage and the pudding were good enough). I also chopped up and roasted some onions separately on the top shelf. This was for the onion gravy. 

After ten mins take the roasting tin with the sausages from the oven and heat them on the hob (keep the onions that are on the top shelf in there for another 5mins). You want a little puddle of oil on the bottom of the tin. If the sausages have not given up their fats then best add some (olive oil or veg oil). The idea here is to kick start the cooking process. You need the roasting dish to be searing hot. When the batter hits the fat it should sizzle and spit. Turn the heat up high and add the batter. Transfer the sausages to the oven. It is most important the you DO NOT open the oven door. You need the toad in the hole to be in the oven for 30mins. 

Toad in the hole is extra special with onion gravy. If you have read some of my past entries, you will remember that gravy is also one of my little pet hates! I get it right but I find it quite stressful. For this onion gravy I caramelised onions in the oven, then softened them by boiling them in wine.  I then reduced the gravy, this takes away the sharpness of the wine and brings out the sweetness of the onions. I seasoned the gravy with Worcestershire sauce, a beef oxo cube, mustard, salt and pepper. 

After 30mins at 200°C your toad in the hole should be ready. Don't be upset when you take the toad out the oven and the sausages drop down. It would not be toad in the hole if there were no holes. 

I am so very chuffed that I have got my head around the infamous Yorkshire pudding. Guess what we will be having for Sunday dinner? a little bit of Heaven.