Batter

Batter is one of the small miracles of cookery - how that pallid liquid is metamorphosed into a puffy golden pillow-crust is a mystery I hope never to have explained to me. As sheer padding, batter is unbeatable value. Try the Toad-in-the-Hole recipe and see.

As I have given the batter-making procedure in some detail in the recipe for Toad-in-the-Hole I will not go into it here. A point to keep in mind when making batter, though, is always to bring it into contact with high heat - whether you are baking it in the oven, or frying it in deep fat. (Fritters can be fried in shallow fat but not so successfully.) This makes it light and ungreasy. In the case of fritters, drain them on crumpled absorbent kitchen paper for a minute before eating. If you wish, you may leave the batter to stand for an hour or so before using.