Cold winter days positively beg for warming breakfasts that delight the heart as much as the belly. These three toppings for French toast are pure decadence that will brighten your morning and give a hint of summer days to come.
Before you dig in, be sure to brew up a pot of Breakfast in Bed Black Tea. It's just right for sipping between mouthfuls of fluffy French toast.
Making French Toast
A truly divine French toast breakfast begins with a good loaf of bread; bread with a sturdy crust and soft interior is a beautiful choice. French bread cut in thick slices is also delicious, as is thickly sliced whole wheat bread. You can use fresh bread, but day-old bread tends to stand up better and not get mushy when dipped into the egg mixture.
The dipping mixture for French toast is simply one egg beaten with half a cup of milk. I like to spice my mixture a bit with a generous sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg or ground cinnamon. Ground cardamom is also lovely, while finely grated lemon zest or orange zest adds a nice zing and beautiful fragrance.
French toast is delicious with a smear of salted butter and a drizzle of real maple syrup, but for a special weekend breakfast, three French toast toppings will help things feel festive and extra special.
Strawberry Topping for French Toast
Strawberries are the fruit of summer, but they can be enjoyed in the dead of winter with this luscious and grown-up strawberry topping for French toast. Instead of paying through the nose for fresh strawberries, get a jar of strawberry jam from your pantry, and pour the preserves into a small saucepan over low heat. Slowly heat the jam, stirring often, until it liquifies. Remove from heat and immediately stir in 3-4 tablespoons of rum. Stir until smooth and serve warm over buttered French toast.
Apple Topping for French Toast
Fresh apples are available throughout the year, but they can be a bit grainy in the winter months. Thankfully, cooking them in a butter and brown sugar sauce makes them soft, tender, and a truly decadent apple topping for French toast. To make it, set a frying pan over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons salted butter and 2 tablespoons brown sugar, stirring gently until butter and sugar melt. Add chopped apples and stir regularly until cooked through. Serve warm over French toast spread with salted butter.
Banana Topping for French Toast
Bananas are a wonderful topping for French toast, especially when mixed with heavy whipping cream flavored with real vanilla and a little sugar. This mixture tastes just like the filling for banana cream pie but with the consistency of maple syrup, making it ideal for spooning over French toast. Simply mix 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of sugar, then stir in 2 sliced ripe bananas and spoon over warm French toast.
