I don’t think I’m a natural canapé maker. They always seem like a good idea, and then, a bit like making your own Christmas cards, after 5 or so, boredom sets in and I’m wishing I’d let the shops do the hard work for me.

Not so with these little beauties. They’re easy peasy, can be made in advance (hurrah for no last minute stress) and even tick the manly box. Because even in miniature form, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is a fully respectable canapé for even the most manly man. The full recipe, courtesy of Sainsbury’s is here. But if you prefer to watch it rather than read it you can see me and the lovely Nicola making them together.

Makes about 12

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 40g plain flour
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 50ml semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tablespoon horseradish
• 2 slices beef, torn into pieces
• Watercress to garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC, fan 200ºC, gas 7. Pour ½ teaspoon oil into each hole of a 12-hole non-stick mini muffin tin and place in the oven to heat through
2. Meanwhile, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a medium bowl and make a well in the centre. Beat in the eggs until smooth, then gradually add the milk, beating until the mixture has no lumps.
3. Remove the mini muffin tin from the oven and carefully add ½ tablespoon of the batter into the compartments. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes, until the puddings have risen and are golden in colour. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
4. Fill each mini Yorkshire pudding with a couple of pieces beef and a little horseradish. Season with black pepper and garnish each with a small sprig of watercress.