2 cups flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
4 eggs
2 Tablespoons melted butter
a pinch or two of grated nutmeg
½ cup meat drippings (or lard)
Special equipment
a 13 x 9 inch pan
Method
Mix together the dry ingredients (ok, ok, sift them together if you're such a purist). Beat together the milk and eggs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and slowly beat in the wet until smooth. Beat in the melted butter and a pinch of nutmeg. Chill (usually for an hour). Preheat the 13 x 9 pan with the meat drippings or lard at 375° until sizzling to keep it from sticking (it's easier to heat it on the stovetop, bringing it to a sizzle). Give the chilled pudding mix a few more beats and pour into the pan. Cook till risen, brown at the edges, and set in the center: about 45 minutes. Traditionally, at least in Yorkshire anyway, the pudding was cooked underneath the roast, catching the drippings, but I don't know of anyone who's ever tried this.
Notes
Based on family recipe.
Suggestions
Toad in the hole is nothing more than Yorkshire pudding with sausages in it: in place of the roast, cook 2 lb of sausage, cut into inch-long segments, until it just begins to brown. Toss in a thinly sliced onion, bring to a very high sizzle on the stovetop, pour in the batter, and bake in a 400° oven for 45 minutes.
