Hey love the story, toad in the hole is not made with batter pudding its made with Yorkshire pudding, i was raised with Yorkshire pudding, it is a cheap to make staple for a lot of English food, all roast dinners must have Yorkshire pudding, it was originally a stand alone dish served with gravy, it as the name suggests it originally came from the north of England as s filling meal for the hard working Yorkshire farm workers, ideally it should be baked in a large rectangle shallow pan, and when baked it would be served in plate sized slabs and covered in gravy, it is now manly used with roast dinner and toad in the hole.