Add to favourite + Print

Mini toad-in-the-holes

By Barney Desmazery

Contains pork – recipe is for non-Muslims only

BBC Good Food magazine food editor Barney adapts this classic sausage recipe to cook with his daughter Maisie

Prep:20 mins
Cook:35 mins

Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 193
fat 11g
saturates 4g
carbs 16g
sugars 4g
fibre 1g
protein 7g
salt 1g

Ingredients

24 uncooked cocktail sausages
2 tbsp sunflower oil
3 eggs (this will be 150ml)
150ml plain flour
½ tsp mustard powder (optional)
150ml milk
12 small rosemary sprigs
3 tbsp red onion marmalade
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp mustard powder
squeeze of ketchup
500ml beef stock made with 1 stock cube
small splash of soy sauce

Tip

Make the gravy first

Heat the marmalade in a small saucepan, then stir in the flour and mustard powder, and cook for a few mins. Stir in the ketchup, then add the beef stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 mins, then add the soy sauce to taste. This can be made in advance and chilled.

To make a larger toad-in-the-hole

If you want to make a more traditional toad-in-the-hole, cook 8 large sausages in a medium roasting tin for 20 mins until browned. Make the batter in exactly the same way, pour it over and cook for 35-40 mins until puffed up.

Use your batter for perfect pancakes

As well as Yorkshire puddings, if you leave out the mustard powder, this batter makes perfect pancakes. Simply make as stated, then sizzle ladlefuls in foaming butter until golden on each side. Serve with lemon and sugar.

What skills can kids learn from Maisie's toad-in-the-hole?

CRACKING EGGS: A foundation task to so many recipes so it’s one well worth teaching properly – then your child can get involved every time you need an egg cracking. The method of cracking the eggs into a small bowl first and checking no shell shrapnel has fallen in will guarantee you won’t have any crunchy surprises. USING THE OVEN: If you have an electric oven, there is no reason why children of seven can’t turn it on to the correct setting and temperature, and place the cold tin carefully in the oven. This teaches them about temperature and also involves them every time something is baked or roasted. Even if you are handling a cold tin, always use oven gloves.

Method

KIDS the writing in bold is for you. GROWN-UPS the rest is for you. Cut the sausages with scissors. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 6. If the sausages are linked, get your child to use a pair of scissors to cut them into single sausages.
Count the sausages. Place 2 sausages in each hole of a 12-hole muffin tin and go through all the maths this involves – two times table, counting up in twos etc. Drizzle each set of sausages with a little oil. Children from about seven upwards can now place the tin in the oven for 20 mins until the sausages have browned, getting a grown-up to turn the sausages halfway through.
Crack some eggs. Over a small bowl, get the child to hold the egg in one hand, then tap it with a cutlery knife until it just cracks. Then get them to put down the knife and open the egg into the small bowl. You can now check for any bits of shell before tipping it into a larger bowl. Repeat with all the eggs – this should keep them busy.
Make a batter. Get the child to measure 150ml flour in a measuring jug and tip into a bowl with the mustard powder. Make a well in the centre and beat in the eggs. Measure the milk.
Pour in the milk. Gradually pour the milk into the batter – get the child to whisk well between each addition – until you have a mix that is the consistency of double cream. Season. Pour the batter back into the jug.
Sizzle the batter. Remove the sausages from the oven and place on a heatproof surface. Very carefully, and making sure that they don’t touch the hot tin, get the child to pour the batter over the sausages and throw a sprig of rosemary into each hole. Only get children aged seven upwards to do this. A grown-up needs to place them back in the oven.
Cook in the oven. Leave the batter to cook for 15 mins undisturbed. But if your oven has a clear glass door, let the kids watch the batter rise. Remove the tin from the oven. Leave to cool for a few mins, then serve with gravy, mash and vegetables.