Fat/calorie-free cake

This is primarily for my 'slim' friends who have been party to the discussion on toad-in-the-hole, so that they can see for themselves what bizarre delicacy we Brits crave at this time of the year! I managed to find some large, fat sausages (rather than the puny 'wiener' favoured by the Japanese - absolutely no good for this dish), so there was no stopping me. Actually, I don't know much about the sausages other than the fact that they were big. Certainly, they weren't beef. They looked like pork, with a few herbs in the mix. They were sold loose, no packaging to check, but whatever they were they looked the part! I'd read a few recipes recommending the addition of English mustard powder to the batter, but I went with the wholegrain mustard I had sitting in the fridge, as well as a bit of thyme. I'm going to have to double this recipe next time I make it, there was squabbling over the 'hole'!



Toad-in-the-hole

100g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
300ml milk
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
3/4 teaspoon thyme
some sausages (how many depends on how big they are - I used 4 very big ones)

Put the flour and salt in a bowl, make a well in the middle and crack the egg into it. Add a splash of milk and mix, gradually adding the rest of the milk. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and creamy, then leave to stand.

Put a tablespoon of oil in a roasting dish. Add the sausages and them in the oil before roasting them for about 15 minutes at 220c. Remove the dish from the oven and pour the batter over the sausages (make sure they remain spaced apart so that the batter can rise between them) and then put it back in the oven for a further 40 minutes.

While it was cooking, I made some onion gravy to spoon over the top:

Onion Gravy

2 onions, sliced
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
500ml beef stock

Fry the onions in the oil for 15 minutes, add the sugar and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, befor adding the stock. Simmer until it thickens slightly.

Now on to the cake... yes, it really is completely fat/calorie-free...

On Monday I became an auntie again, so I wanted to make something special for mother and baby:



In case you are still confused, it is a nappy cake. The recipe is simple enough:

lots of nappies
various goodies for mother and baby
some ribbon
a bit of imagination

Can't wait to have a cuddle of the new arrival on Saturday!