French Toast

HAPPY NATIONAL FRENCH TOAST DAY!!!

And what better way to celebrate this fun food day and the holiday season than with this decadent breakfast/brunch treat — Crème Brûlée French Toast!

For this month, I worked with our friends over at Safest Choice® Eggs to up the ante on the traditional French Toast by mashing it up with one of my favorite desserts—-Crème Brûlée.

It all starts off with a rich custard base of eggs, cream, milk and then it’s flavored with warm spices, vanilla extract, Grand Marnier and fresh orange zest. Day old bread then soaks up the custard overnight so that it gets into every nook and cranny.

In the morning, you throw the dish into the oven until the bread becomes golden brown and puffed. The final step is a generous sprinkle of sugar over the toast and then it’s quickly brûléed.

The end result?

When you cut into the top layer of caramelized sugar, you get a wonderfully satisfying crunch and the center is rich and decadent. Personally, I think the brûléed sugar gives the right amount of sweetness but if you want to add a drizzle of maple syrup—go right ahead!

Scrumptious breakfast and a make-ahead wonder!

Head on over to Safest Choice® Eggs to read my Crème Brûlée French Toast post this month and while you’re at it, click here for the recipe.

HAPPY NATIONAL FRENCH TOAST DAY!!!

After our glorious day at King’s Hawaiian, the wonderful KH ‘Ohana sent us home with a huge box of goodies to fill our kitchen and tummies. ONO-licious!!!

I couldn’t wait to try out different recipes with the delicious products and I started off with an island inspired French Toast.

While daydreaming about warm, tropical beaches I whipped up a batch of French Toast utilizing island based ingredients– coconut, guava, and of course– King’s Hawaiian Bread.

The slightly sweetened bread soaks up the perfect amount of custard base to yield a rich and creamy center. I also chose to coat the toast with Coconut Crunch pieces but if you can’t find it, non-toasted coconut flakes will also work well to create a wonderful texture.

And after all this island goodness, I couldn’t bear the thought of settling for maple syrup. Lucky for me I had some guava puree on hand and was able to make a quick syrup. It was PERFECT!!!

Perhaps we all can’t be whisked away to some beautiful tropical paradise at any given moment but at least our tummies can be transported there with some Coconut Crunch French Toast and Guava Syrup.

Much Alohas to you all!

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Coconut Crunch French Toast with Guava Syrup
Serves 2

Ingredients:

Guava Syrup
1 Cup Guava Puree
1 Cup Water
1 Tablespoon Palm Sugar

French Toast
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Milk
¼ Cup Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
½ Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
½ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2-3 Pinches Ground Nutmeg
4 Slices Kings Hawaiian Sweet Bread, about 1 inch thickness (Brioche can be substituted)
1 Cup Coconut Crunch Pieces (Coconut flakes can be substituted)
Confectioners’ Sugar for dusting
Vegetable Oil
Butter

Prepare the Guava Syrup by adding all the syrup ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a light boil, stirring frequently. Once at a boil, lower heat to a simmer and cook down until the syrup is thickened and reduced by half. Remove from heat and warm prior to serving.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, heavy cream and sugar together. Add in the vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and whisk until the sugar has dissolved and all items have combined. Pour the Coconut Crunch pieces into a shallow dish.

In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-low heat. Swirl the skillet to evenly coat the bottom. While the skillet is heating, dip the slices of bread into the egg mixture, coating each side. Lightly shake off the excess liquids and coat each side of bread with the Coconut Crunch pieces– gently pressing the coconut into the bread. Once coated, slide the bread into the heated skillet. This may need to be done in batches depending on your skillet size. Cook each side of the French Toast for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.

Plate the French Toast and dust lightly with confectioner’s sugar. Serve immediately with the warmed Guava Syrup.

Tag: French Toast

Crème Brûlée French Toast – Happy National French Toast Day!

Coconut Crunch French Toast with Guava Syrup