Our breakfast on weekends is usually an eggy affair. At times, when we are feeling just too lazy, we prefer eating boiled eggs- the choice of soft and hard boiled variations depends on the whether we crave for soft, beautiful, runny consistency or a firm and hard yolk.
Other times, we simply resort to making Omelette- beaten egg mixture with onions, chilies and tomatoes and frying it in a pan with oil or butter, sometimes filled with cheese and mushroom.
Over these years, we have added several egg recipes in our repertoire. One such recipe that I picked up during my eventful stint at my first job is French toast. In those day, when my knowledge of cuisine was still limited, French toast sounded a fanciful term to me. Soft and sweet slices of egg-battered bread available for 15 rupees seemed such an exciting prospect for a hungry young stomach. As our cooking skills evolved with our knowledge of domestic and global cuisine, French toast became a preferred breakfast choice for us.
France as a country has made a huge impact on global culinary landscape. Though the name of the dish highlights that the dish must have originated in France, this belief is far from real. A recipe named ‘Pain Perdu’ or ‘Lost Bread’ (‘pain perdu’ is what French call French toast today) bears close resemblance to method of preparation of French toast. Soaking of hard or stale bread in mixture of egg and milk is what comprised making of ‘Pain Perdu’ which is very similar to the French toast recipe. As per a humorous account, an inn keeper named Joseph French in New York created this dish. However, due to his ineptitude in working with English language he named this dish “French Toast” as he was unfamiliar with the apostrophe (French’s) in English.
Typically, Brioche is used in this recipe. Brioche is a bread that is rich in texture and taste due to higher addition of eggs and butter. However, as Brioche in India is not readily available, we can also use white/brown bread slices. The loaf of Brioche can be sliced into 1 inch slices with a serrated knife.
An egg batter comprising of eggs, cream and milk (to give richness), brown sugar (for sweetness), cinnamon powder and vanilla essence (for aroma) is made. The slices of bread are dipped in this batter and fried on a hot pan with oil/or butter.
French toast must be served with generous pouring of honey/maple syrup and dusted with powdered sugar
Find some more interesting Egg recipes
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3-4
- We will use Brioche for making French toast. Brioche can easily be procured from gourmet stores or international food stores. You may even use white or brown slice breads for this recipe.
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- ¼th cup heavy cream
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- 2 tbsp. brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- Butter
- Make approx. 1 inch slices using a serrated knife (4 slices).
- Let's make the egg batter in which we will dip the bread slices. In a large bowl, put eggs. Add cream, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon powder, vanilla essence and salt. Mix well
- Heat 1 tbsp. butter in a pan. Dip a slice in this batter and put this batter coated slice in hot pan.
- We will cook until underside turns brown. Flip the side. Take it off the flame when its gets cooked from both sides.
- Drizzle with honey and dust caster sugar while serving
Click here to watch recipe video
Leave a Reply