Toad and Moet!

As mentioned in my last post, I moved house this weekend. I know that people say that moving is up there with some of the most stressful things you will do in your life but it's not until you have to do it that you realise how true that is. Especially when it is ten years since I last moved! You forget the pain. But it all went fairly smoothly and I am now ensconced in my new home.
(I know that this blog is about cakes but if I take a leaf out of Lorraine Pascal's book (and I think I can) then baking is anything that you bake in the oven, so read on)
On our fist evening together my other half made noises about fancying Toad in the Hole for dinner. Now I'm sure you are thinking that he should be cooking for me on our first night but believe me it's better this way! I had been out to lunch last week and have the self same toad and was thinking that I should try to make it. Serendipity.
One of the cookbooks I have inherited in my new house is a book called Sausage and Mash and as you will gather from the title it is a whole book on sausage and mash, who knew? And in amongst the various sausages and mashes there is a recipe for a traditional Toad in the Hole.
Ingredients are just flour (110g), half tsp salt, 2 eggs, 175ml semi-skimmed milk mixed with 125mls water (I used skimmed instead), 8 pork sausages and oil. We only had beef sausages so I'm hoping the Toad purists will forgive me.
You make the batter by mixing the flour, salt, eggs and milk (whisking is easiest) and put it in the fridge to rest for 30 mins. Then heat the oven to 225 and put your toad pan in with 3tbsp of oil (the recipe calls for rapeseed but I used groundnut, needs must) and heat it until it is smoking which takes about 10 minutes. Meanwhile you brown the sausages. Once the oil is ready pour the batter in (it should start sizzling immediately) and then drop the sausages in. It says to bake for 35-40 minutes but mine was ready after 25. It had risen around the edges but not in the middle, not sure if my sausage placement was correct. But once we were eating it with the onion gravy and Moet I didn't really care.