Recipes and styling: Sarah Dall. Assisted by: Robyn Thompson. Photographs: Michael LeGrange. Article: Food and Home Entertaining Magazine April 2015 Issue.
Classic french toast – also known as eggy bread, gypsy toast or omelette bread – is a fabulously versatile dish – try these innovative ways with this breakfast favourite for a super- indulgent treat – at any time of day!
French toast batons with wild mushroom and sage butter
Serves 2 – Easy – 30 mins
The flavour combinations
25g butter
150g wild mushrooms, some cut into quarters
100g butter
10 fresh sage leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 large eggs
50ml milk
pinch salt
2 thick slices sourdough bread, cut into batons
125g creme fraiche, to serve
How to do it
1 Heat the 25g butter in a medium sized frying pan over high heat, and fry the mushrooms until golden. Add the 100g butter, reduce the heat and simmer until the butter turns golden brown in colour. Remove from heat, add the sage leaves and season to taste. Transfer the mushrooms to a serving bowl, leaving a little of the butter in the pan for frying the French toast.
2 Whisk together the eggs, milk and a pinch of salt. Dip the bread batons into the egg mixture and fry in the mushroom pan over medium heat until golden brown and crisp, 1 minute on each side. Remove from pan and serve hot with the wild mushroom and sage butter and a side of creme fraiche.
Pear and Gorgonzola- stuffed French toast
Serves 2 – Easy – 1 hr 45 mins
The flavour combinations
Bread Dough
7,5ml (11/2 tsp) dry yeast
250g cake flour + extra, to dust
5ml (1 tsp) salt
2,5ml (1/2 tsp) sugar
15ml (1 tbsp) sunflower oil
250ml tepid water (approximately), to form a workable dough
Pear and gorgonzola filling
15g butter
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 pear, cut into quarters
50g Gorgonzola/any blue cheese
1 large egg 50ml milk 15g butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
50ml maple syrup, to serve fresh thyme leaves, to garnish
How to do it
1 For the bread dough, place all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, rub in the oil and add enough of the tepid water to form a workable dough. Turn the dough out onto a clean, dusted work surface and knead
until smooth and stretchy but not sticky, 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place until double in size, about 30 minutes.
2 Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease and line a 20cm x 10cm (or similar- sized) bread loaf tin with baking paper.
3 For the filling, heat the butter and thyme in a frying pan over medium heat, and fry the pears until caramelised and cooked through, 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
4 Lightly dust a clean surface with flour and roll out the bread dough into a 17cm x 28cm rectangle. Top with the caramelised pears and crumbled blue cheese and roll, pinching the ends together. Place in the prepared bread tin, seam side down, and set aside to prove, 15 minutes.
5 Whisk together the egg and milk and brush a little of the mixture over the bread dough. Bake in the oven until the bread is cooked through and golden on top, 30 – 35 minutes.
6 Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool before cutting into 1 cm-thick slices.
7 Dip the slices into the egg mixture. Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, and fry the egg-dipped slices until cooked through and golden, 2 minutes on each side. Season and serve with maple syrup and fresh thyme.
Croque-monsieur French toast
Serves 2 – Easy – 45 mins
The flavour combinations
Bechamel Sauce
125ml (1/2 cup) milk
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, peeled
15g butter
15ml (1 tbsp) cake flour
50ml brandy
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
French Toast
2 large eggs
50ml milk
pinch salt
6 French loaf/baguette slices
30g butter
Topping
6 slices gypsy ham
50g Gruyere, grated
6 sprigs fresh oregano, to garnish
How to do it
1 Preheat he oven, on grill setting, to 200°C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2 For the bechamel sauce, heat the milk, bay leaf and garlic clove in a small pot over medium heat and warm just before simmering point. Remove from heat and set aside to infuse until ready to use. Strain just before using.
3 Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook, 2 minutes. Add the brandy and flambe. Remove from heat and add the infused milk, a little at a time, whisking continuously to ensure you have a smooth, lump free sauce. Season, cover with cling film and set aside.
4 For the french toast, whisk together the eggs, milk and salt. Dip the slices of bread into the egg mixture. Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat, and fry the dipped slices until golden and cooked through, 2 minutes each side.
5 Remove from heat and place on the prepared baking tray. Top each slice with ham and grated cheese, season with salt and pepper and place under the grill till the cheese is crisp and has melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
6 Remove the cling film from the top of the bachamel sauce and heat up briefly. Drizzle the warm bechamel over the grilled french toast and garnish with fresh oregano to serve.
I went to a restaurant that serves “breakfast at any time . So. I ordered French toast during the Renaissance. – Steven Wright
Orange cream and granadilla-rolled French toast
Serves 2 – Easy – 30 mins
The flavour combinations
125g cream cheese pulp of 1 granadilla + extra, to garnish
15ml (1 tbsp) orange zest + extra, to garnish
30ml (2 tbsp) orange juice
1 large egg
50ml milk
2 slices white bread
30g butter
orange wedge, to serve
How to do it
1 In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the cream cheese, granadilla pulp, orange zest and juice and set aside.
2 Whisk together the egg and milk. Dip the slices of bread into the egg mixture and place on a board. Divide the citrus- cream cheese mixture between the two slices and spread over the bread, leaving a gap around the edges. Roll the bread up as you would a Swiss roll.
3 Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, and fry the rolls until golden and crisp, 1 minute on each side.
4 Remove from pan and serve garnished with granadilla pulp, orange zest and an orange wedge.
Apple and butterscotch French-toast sandwiches
Serves 3 – Easy – 45 mins (+ 30 mins, for the sauce to cool)
The flavour combinations
Butterscotch Sauce
100ml golden syrup
35g butter
80g treacle sugar
100ml cream
French-Toast Sandwiches
30g butter
2 Royal Gala apples, core removed and cut into eighths
15ml (1 tbsp) brown sugar
2 large eggs
50ml milk
6 slices muesli/raisin bread
30g butter
How to do it
1 For the butterscotch sauce, place the syrup, butter and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the cream. Return to the heat, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, 2-3 minutes. Pour into a sterilised jar and set aside to cool and thicken, about 30 minutes.
2 For the sandwiches, melt the first 30g butter in a frying pan over medium heat, add the apples and sugar and fry until softened and caramelised, 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3 Whisk together the eggs and milk and dip the slices of bread into the egg mixture. Place 3 of the dipped slices of bread on a board and top each slice with caramelised apples and 15ml (1 tbsp) butterscotch sauce. Sandwich together with the remaining slices of dipped bread.
4 Heat the second 30g butter in a large frying pan over medium heat, and fry the apple sandwiches until golden brown and cooked through, 2 minutes on each side.
5 Remove from heat and cut each sandwich in half. Stack them, keeping them in place with a skewer, and serve immediately drizzled with the remaining butterscotch sauce or serve it as a side, if you prefer.
Marshmallow – stuffed French toast with dark- chocolate ganache
Serves 2-3 – Easy – 30 mins
The flavour combinations
100ml cream
100g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
3 sugar doughnuts, halved horizontally
75g mini marshmallows
2 large eggs
50ml milk
50g butter
baby marshmallows, to serve
How to do it
1 Heat the cream in a small pot over medium heat until just before simmering. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate pieces until you have a silky, smooth chocolate ganache. Set aside.
2 Top 3 of the doughnut halves with marshmallows, then top each half with a remaining half. Squish together.
3 Whisk together the eggs and milk and carefully dip each stuffed doughnut into the egg mixture. Heat the butter in a large frying pan over low heat and fry the stuffed doughnuts, 2 minutes on each side, until crisp and the marshmallows have started to melt.
4 Remove from pan, place on a serving plate on top of one another and allow to cool. Top with the chocolate ganache and serve with baby marshmallows and a side of leftover ganache.
