This rather ambiguous name refers to the original recipe whereby a small piece of mutton was wrapped in a suet crust and boiled. The resulting dish looked like a toad-in-a-hole. Today its sausage and Yorkshire pud that make this iconic British dish a great brunch dish, especially if there’s lots of boys involved. Jazz it up with a roasted tomato sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder (optional)
• ½ teaspoon salt and ground pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1½ cups milk
• 12 small breakfast sausages

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 240ºC. Arrange the oven rack at just above the centre.
2. Sift the flour, mustard, salt and pepper into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together and pour into the well. Using a wooden spoon to stir, gradually incorporate all ingredients to make a smooth batter. Beat for 3 minutes.
4. Strain the mixture through sieve into a jug. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
5. Place the sausages into a heat-proof frying pan or a small roasting dish and drizzle with a little oil, only about 1-2 tablespoons.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. The pan or dish should be hot and the sausages sizzling.
7. Working quickly, pour the batter over the hot sausages and return to the oven lowering the heat to 220°C for 30 minutes. Serve in wedges or chunky servings with the roasted tomato sauce.

Cooks Tips

- Leaving the batter to stand allows the gluten in the flour (protein) to rest, thus ensuring a tender pud when cooked. Do not beat the batter again after resting and before cooking.

- If you do not have mustard powder, add 2 teaspoons of prepared mustard when beating the eggs and milk together.

Variations:

- Try different types of sausages to vary the flavour - specialty sausages will make this classic rather trendy.

- Serve with gravy rather than the roasted tomato sauce. The gravy can be jazzed up with herbs like rosemary or thyme, or add a spoonful of plum jam - great with pork sausages.

- Add Worcestershire or HP sauce to a gravy for a classic British flavour, perfect with beef sausages.