We’re in the heart of berry season. The sweet confections are synonymous with desserts, preserves, and summer cocktails. However, let’s not forget how great they are as a breakfast garnish—especially with French Toast!
Enter, quite possibly, my favorite, sweet-toothed breakfast item: French toast. I’ve been using the following recipe for years—more often than not, I make sure to bring a batch whenever I go to the cabin in the spring and summer or to the hunting shack in fall and winter. The great thing about it is you can make it a day or two in advance and can be reheated in as little as 30 seconds in the microwave (up at the cabin or hunting camp). Let me tell you, the convenience factor of that, multiplied by, when the wakeup call is 3 A.M. on a frigid morning in the duck hunting shack, nothing quite lifts the spirits of us more than 10,000 bowls of cold Wheaties could ever do.
Ingredients
– 1 loaf of day-old/stale broiche, challah, or white bread (sliced 1 inch thick preferably)
– 8 ounces of heavy whipping cream or half and half
– 2 large eggs
– 1½ tablespoons of honey (warmed for 20 seconds in microwave)
– ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
– ¼ teaspoon salt
– Optional: ¼ teaspoon nutmeg (for a little punch)
– Cinnamon
– Butter
– Maple Syrup (as in real maple syrup, not Mrs. Butterworth’s)
Serving Garnish
– Fresh berries
– Optional: powdered sugar or whipped cream
Directions
1. The night before: leave bread out on counter to allow to stale. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk half and half, eggs, honey, vanilla extract, and salt. Cover and refrigerate custard mixture.
2. If you forgot to leave the bread out the night before or isn’t yet slightly firm, place in oven set at 350 for 5-7 minutes until the bread has a bit of rigidity to it.
3. Over medium heat melt butter in a large sauté pan. Dip bread into custard mixture for 5-10 seconds ensuring each side is equally submersed – but not overly saturated. Place slices into pan and cook until golden brown (approximately 2-3 minutes per side). Add more butter to melt for other side to cook in. Upon flipping the slice, sprinkle cinnamon over the cooked side. When the other side has cooked, flip over again and sprinkle cinnamon on that side. Flip back over again and allow cinnamon to sear in for 10 seconds. Remove and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining slices.
4. With a fork, poke holes into the slices. Pour maple syrup over the slices and evenly spread over each slice (including the crust).
5. Optional: place in oven set to 350 for 3-4 minutes to slightly caramelize the syrup above and warms the rest soaking into the every fiber inside the toast.
6. Serve with berries, powdered sugar, whip cream, etc.