Tiny Toads Recipes

TINY TOADS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6. Put a generous half-teaspoonful of sunflower oil in the bottom of each cup of a deep 12-hole mini muffin pan set on a baking tray.
• Pour the milk into a jug, add the egg, flour and a pinch of salt and whisk everything together with a hand blender or wire whisk until a smooth batter forms.
• Put the muffin pan in the oven for a minute or so until the oil is very hot. Carefully remove from the oven and quickly fill the cups just under two-thirds full (this may not seem enough batter, but they puff up in the oven). Drop a sausage into each cup and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, well risen and crisp. Serve with ketchup.

MINI TOAD-IN-THE-HOLES

Steps:

• 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.

TRADITIONAL BRITISH TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE AND MINI TOADS TOO!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 220°C or 450°F.
• Pour the dripping or vegetable oil into a large metal roasting tin. Place the tin in the preheated oven whilst you make the batter to heat the oil/dripping up.When the fat is hot, add the sausages and turn them over to coat them.Cook for about 10 minutes.
• Make the Yorkshire pudding batter - Mix flour, salt & pepper together in a large roomy mixing bowl. Make a hollow in the centre & add the egg, mixing it into the flour with a wooden spoon.Add the milk gradually until all the flour and egg is worked in and smooth. Add any remaining milk and beat well with a balloon whisk or hand held beater.
• Take the roasting tin with the sausages out from the oven and very QUICKLY pour the batter over the partly cooked sausages. Swirl around to make sure it covers everywhere.
• Put them back into the oven cook for a further 30 minutes or until the batter has puffed up and the sausages are sizzling and brown!
• Cut into 4 quarters and serve straight away with hot onion gravy & mashed potatoes!
• You can also use pork or lamb chops instead of sausages - making sure they are not too thick. I often use pork chops with quartered apple and stuffing balls which is really lovely!
• MINI TOADS:.
• Twist a sausage into half and carefully cut through the skin to make 2 sausages - do this once more to each half making a total of 4 small sausages out of one big sausage. (Or use party cocktail sausages - mini frankfurters) carry on until you have made 12 mini sausages. Follow the instructions above, but only cook the mini sausages for about 5 minutes first and then another 15 minutes with the batter. Serve with tomato ketchup or home made tomato sauce/relish and mugs of soup for a great Winter supper!