French Toast
Golden, fluffy, and just the right amount of indulgent – French toast is a breakfast classic that never goes out of style. Whether you’re craving a cosy weekend breakfast or a sweet treat to brighten your morning, this french toast recipe takes simple pantry staples like bread, eggs, and milk and transforms them into something special. It’s perfect when it’s topped with fresh, blueberries, strawberries; a drizzle of maple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar.
I’m one of those silly people that actually enjoys the fake maple flavoured syrup all over my pancakes, waffles and french toast. I’m not saying I don’t like authentic maple syrup, I just prefer the taste of the fake stuff. Authentic maple syrup has a kind of earthy/woody/floral – because it comes from a maple tree – with a hint of what tastes like coffee. I’m not a big coffee drinker, I like the smell of coffee, just not the taste, so I’m not much of a fan of the authentic maple syrup.
Ingredients
Brioche bread, eggs, milk or cream, icing sugar, cinnamon, butter for cooking
Toppings
Fruit, syrup, and icing sugar (optional)
My favourite bread to use for French Toast
- Sourdough – I love sourdough in general; slightly tangy, sweet and savoury with a chewy texture. It’s perfect for french toast as it has a sturdy texture compared to white bread or brioche. It narrowly beats out my next choice.
- Brioche – my second fave is using brioche. The sweet, buttery, soft texture of brioche is great, it takes french toast to the next level, making it a little more deluxe.
- White – thick sliced white bread. For me, french toast is special, it deserves the best, and the next best thing is white bread. I’m not a fan of wholemeal or multigrain bread, there are many options now on the market that are white bread enriched with fibre, making it a great choice for everyday eating and even those special treats like french toast. Homestyle Bake have a one inch thick sliced bread that I love using and are available in most supermarkets. While not my most favourite choice for french toast, it’s usually my go-to when I can’t get my hands on the good brioche or sourdough from a bakery.
What should I serve my French Toast with?
French toast should be topped with fruit like strawberries, blueberries and bananas and then smothered in maple flavoured syrup. If you want a really indulgent and special breakfast, pair it with some bacon, hash browns, sausage, grilled tomatoes or mushrooms and baked beans.
Change up the toppings too; you don’t have to use maple syrup or fruit. Have them plain (it’s the reason I add the icing sugar because it adds sweetness), with honey, marshmallows, jams, Nutella, lemon and passionfruit curd, the possibilities are endless.
My Best Tips
Try to avoid using freshly baked bread, use day old bread. Day old bread dries out a little, giving the bread more structure once dipped in the egg mixture.
Don’t pre-prepare your french toast before cooking. Dip both sides into the egg mixture right before cooking, then cook it. Try not to have it sitting there, pre-soaking in the egg mixture, while you cook the other slices. This can also contribute to sogginess in the finished product.
I like using thick slices of bread so you may need to adjust the recipe based on the type and thickness of the bread that you’re using. Add an extra egg, a splash more cream/milk or a few more slices of bread or save the mixture for next time you want to make breakfast/dessert.
French Toast
Ingredients
Egg Mixture
- 3 extra large eggs
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 40 ml thickened cream sub for milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon optional
- splash of vanilla
Other Ingredients
- 4-6 slices of your choice of bread white, brioche, sourdough, Note 1
- 20-30 g butter
Instructions
- In a large round bowl, crack in the eggs, add in the milk, icing sugar, cream, vanilla and cinnamon powder and whisk everything together.
- Heat a large pan on a medium to low heat.
- Dunk each side of the bread, making sure both sides are coated well
- Add some butter to a pan. I like to add a small knob at a time, moving it around to coat the middle of the pan.
- Place the bread in the buttered part of the pan, move it around to soak up the butter, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Flip, move the bread around to soak up the rest of the butter and allow the other side to cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan.
- Repeat 3-5 until you use up the remaining bread.
- Stack up your slices of french toast, top with your favourite toppings and dust with icing sugar if you're feeling fancy.
Very well and thoroughly presented. Your explanations , tips and recommendations would embolden even the most timid of cooks. Foodlovers and experienced cooks would also find the recipes and blog most interesting and inspiring.