You know when you just fancy something and nothing else will do? Well last night after a failed attempt at Racuchy (Polish yeast pancakes) I didn’t quite satisfy my sweet tooth. So when I woke up this morning I was not drawn to our usual hearty savoury weekend breakfast. It had to be french toast… brioche french toast!
Brioche just makes this traditional dish extra special. It creates a sweeter, fluffier and richer toast that will not disappoint on a cold winter morning… or any for that matter!
Don’t worry, I won’t preach about how only home made brioche will do, because truth is this recipe will make any brioche delicious! Better still, its perfect for a day or two old loaf.
This batter can be made the night before if required so it’s ideal when entertaining guests or if you just don’t want to faff in the morning! It’s also easily halved or doubled depending on how many you’re feeding!
Ingredients (serves 2)
Brioche – 4-6 slices depending on how big your loaf is a good 1 inch thick.
Milk – 160ml
Eggs – 2 medium
Plain flour – 80g
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Vanilla (seeds or extract) – 1 tsp
Cinnamon – 1/4 tsp
Caster Sugar – 2 tbsp
Salt – just a pinch
Unsalted butter – for frying
Toppings- your choice pick your favourites; maple syrup, golden syrup, fruits, streaky bacon, jam, curd, butter icing sugar…
1. Batter – In a jug measure out your milk, then add the eggs, vanilla and sugar, cinnamon and whisk well with a fork. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl, add about a quarter of your milk mixture and combine until smooth. Then slowly add the remaining mixture whisking as you go. You should have a fairly thick pancake batter (if not add a little more flour or milk as required)
2. Brioche – slice your brioche and set aside while you prepare your toppings
3. Toppings- now’s the time to prep your toppings. You’ll thank me for this tip when you’re tucking into lovely warm french toast instead of soggy cold slices of floppy brioche
3. Fry – Heat your butter in a large non stick frying pan or hot plate on a medium heat. Soak each slice of brioche really well in the batter, allow the excess to drip off and immediately place onto the hot pan. You want to fit as many on the pan as possible so you can serve every portion hot. Fry on both sides for just a few minutes (until just a bit more than golden brown)
4. Serve – stack 2/3 slices, add your toppings and lightly dust with icing sugar
5. Enjoy.