Holidays are nice. After a very busy semester, it feels good, needed in fact, to finally wind down from work a little. I just came back from a short trip to Perth with my family (more on that soon!). It was a trip with many twists and turns, to say the least, but overall it was good one.
A few days prior to the Perth trip, I whipped up some french toast (and also my first attempt at an iced matcha latte) for B and my sister. It was a Wednesday, the Hari Raya public holiday, and the day that marked the beginning of the June break for me. Honestly I had so much fun making and photographing the french toast and the matcha latte.
So here's my recipe for french toast! (I'll post the recipe for the iced matcha latte at a later time). I know that there are tons of french toast recipes on the Internet, some of which are probably better than mine (I'm definitely not doing a good job at promoting my recipe here...), but I like this recipe as it is simple to execute and it produces a lightly crisp and golden french toast, buttery, fragrant from vanilla and cinnamon, with a slightly custardy and fluffy interior. Served with whipped salted maple butter (that stuff is delicious!), maple syrup and berries, this made for a deliciously satisfying breakfast or brunch (or any time of the day, really).
An important thing to note when making french toast is that you should always use thick slices of bread. I used my own homemade hokkaido milk bread (which is sweet and fluffy!) and sliced it up into one-inch thick slices (2020 update: I used homemade challah bread to make the French toast and it is amazing). The reason for this is so that the slice of bread can soak up as much of the custard as possible without becoming too soggy. Also, why would anyone want a thin slice of french toast? I mean, a thicker slice is so much nicer, am I right?
There you have it! Easy and quick to whip up, and utterly delicious. I hope you give it a go!
Classic French Toast with Whipped Salted Maple Butter
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
For whipped salted maple butter:
226 g (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
113 g (about 1/3 cup) honey or maple syrup, room temperature
1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
For french toast:
8 one-inch slices of brioche, milk bread, challah, french bread, or sourdough
4 large eggs
125 g (1/2 cup) whole milk
125 g (1/2 cup) heavy cream*
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, optional
Pinch of sea salt
Unsalted butter, for cooking
To serve:
Maple syrup, berries and whipped salted maple butter (or any other any things like whipped cream, powdered sugar, etc, that you like)
Method
To make the whipped salted maple butter:
This butter can be made in advance and refrigerated until needed. Whip room temperature unsalted butter and salt together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add honey or maple syrup to the whipped butter and whip until combined.
To store the butter, place it on a large sheet of cling wrap and roll it into a log. Wrap the log of butter in parchment paper and place it in the fridge until needed.
To make the french toast:
In a shallow pan, add the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Whisk until well combined.
Optional: Cut each slice of bread into triangles. I just find this more aesthetically pleasing. You can just go ahead with the slices of bread as they are.
Dip each side of the bread in the egg mixture.
Melt a little bit of unsalted butter in a large skillet or pan over medium heat. Cook the french toast until golden brown, about two to three minutes on each side.
Serve the french toast warm** with maple syrup, berries, and whipped salted maple butter.
Note
* I used a mixture of whole milk and heavy whipping cream. Cream makes the french toast richer in flavour, which is what I prefer. However, if you want a lighter french toast, you could substitute the cream for the same amount of whole milk. Alternatively, you could omit whole milk and cream altogether and use the same amount of diary-free milk instead, such such as almond milk.
** To keep french toast warm while you are cooking, place them in an oven that has been preheated to 90°C. Ensure that the oven is switched off. You don't want the french toast to be overcooked and dry out. Alternatively, you can rewarm already cooked french toast in a large skillet or pan over medium heat. Again, just place the french toast there until it is warm. Don't overdo it as the french toast might dry out.