Bananas Foster French Toast

BANANAS FOSTER FRENCH TOAST

6/12/2022

On weekends and special occasions, there is nothing quite like Bananas Foster French Toast! Thick and fluffy slices of buttery brioche are dipped in rich egg custard with just a touch of vanilla and cinnamon and grilled until golden. Topped with a decadent Bananas Foster Sauce made from butter, brown sugar, heavy cream and a touch of dark rum, and filled with caramelized banana slices and crunchy pecans, this is one amazing breakfast treat! Devilishly good with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream as well! Maple syrup, move on over – there’s a new star in town!

Bananas Foster French Toast

THE BEST NEW ORLEANS BREAKFAST EVER!

Bananas Foster is a famous New Orleans dessert made with fresh bananas, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, dark rum and banana liqueur. After cooking the bananas in the sweet caramel sauce, the rum and banana liquors are added and then flambéed to burn off the alcohol. Bananas Foster is usually topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. In this easy and spectacular Bananas Foster French Toast recipe, I add pecans and combine a tasty breakfast recipe with a delicious dessert for an amazing breakfast or brunch treat

Bananas Foster French Toast

RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS:

Do I need to use Brioche? The most important ingredient in this recipe is the brioche! With its signature golden color, buttery sweetness and rich taste, it’s the perfect bread to start with for perfect French Toast! If you can’t find brioche, feel free to substitute challah bread. While both breads are rich yeasted breads, brioche is French and made with plenty of butter and much richer than challah. The butter helps give brioche a lighter, fluffier texture and a sweeter flavor. Try to buy the bread from a bakery a day or two before you intend on using it, as slightly stale bread actually works best for French toast!
Can I use milk rather than heavy cream or half & half? You could, but heavy cream or half & half create a richer custard. Although this recipe uses heavy cream or half & half, you can use any type of milk to make French toast. Whole milk, skim milk, fat-free milk or heavy cream can be used. Obviously, heavy cream makes the richest custard. If you want to make dairy free French toast, almond milk or soy milk can be used as well.
Cinnamon Sugar Sprinkle? One of my favorite tricks is to sprinkle both sides of French toast with cinnamon sugar while it is cooking. This is just a little something extra that helps caramelize the toast and adds a little sweet crunch to the outside.
How do I keep my French Toast from getting soggy? The best tip is to start with bread that is 2 or 3 days old or oven-dry the bread – fresh and tender bread will soak up too much of the custard and you’ll end up with soggy slices. To oven-dry the bread, place the bread slices on a baking sheet and bake in a 275° F oven for about 30 to 45 minutes (depending on the thickness of the bread) flipping the slices at least once for even drying.
Also, make sure you don’t dip the bread into the custard for too long. 2 to 3 seconds is all the time needed for the brioche to soak in the rich custard.
Keep French Toast Warm: If you’re preparing this for a crowd, you’ll want to keep this warm to serve everyone at the same time. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees, and keep the cooked French toast slices on a baking sheet in your preheated oven while you work on the next batch. Work quickly, as they will begin to dry out after 20 minutes or so. Also, don’t cover while in the oven, as you don’t want the French toast to get soggy.
Banana Tip: Unlike most baking recipes that call for ripe bananas, for this recipe you’ll want to use very firm bananas so that they hold their shape and don’t get mushy from being cooked.
Can I leave out the Rum? The alcohol in the rum burns off when you simmer the sauce, making this French toast recipe kid friendly! If you prefer to stay away from spirits, you can substitute rum extract for flavor. You can also substitute another liquor, such as bourbon or brandy. I use dark rum, but white rum can also be used.
If you want to make the Bananas Foster Sauce taste like a true New Orleans experience, you can make this recipe a little more boozy by adding an extra tablespoon or two of dark rum or even some banana liqueur – no need to flambé! Traditional flambéing of Bananas Foster Sauce does provide a dramatic effect—hypnotic flames skipping across swirls caramelized bananas in a sweet rum sauce, but this Bananas Foster French Toast is pretty spectacular without that step!

Bananas Foster French Toast

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Bananas Foster French Toast

BANANAS FOSTER FRENCH TOAST

Bananas Foster French Toast

INGREDIENTS:
FRENCH TOAST:
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter
8 slices brioche, cut ¾ to 1-inch thick
Cinnamon sugar (for sprinkling)

CUSTARD:
4 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks (room temperature)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 and 1/2 tablespoons (44 grams) granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon (14 grams) dark brown sugar (packed)
2/3 cup (156 grams) heavy cream or half & half
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon (14 grams) dark rum

BANANAS FOSTER SAUCE:
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (142 grams) dark brown sugar (packed)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (113 grams) heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup (110 grams) pecans (whole or roughly chopped)
2 large firm bananas (peeled and sliced diagonally)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 Tablespoon (35 grams) dark rum

HOW I MAKE THIS:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
PREPARE BRIOCHE: Cut the bread slices between 3/4 and 1 inch thick.
PREPARE CUSTARD: In a large shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk the eggs and egg yolks until frothy and well combined.
Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and continue whisking until well combined. Add the heavy cream (or half & half), vanilla extract and rum extract, whisk until well combined. Keep your whisk handy, so that you can re-whisk as necessary between batches to keep the custard mixture evenly combined before dipping your bread slices.
PREPARE PAN (OR GRIDDLE): Melt a few tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
PREPARE FRENCH TOAST: Dip each slice of brioche into the egg mixture, making sure both sides are evenly coated – do not let the bread soak in the custard mixture.
Place brioche slices into skillet and sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar. Cook until the undersides are golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Flip and sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar. Continue cooking on the other side until equally golden brown, about another 2 to 3 minutes. Remember, every stovetop runs a little different (not to mention the pan you use will affect the cooking time), so keep a close eye. You want the bread to be golden brown on both sides!
Remove cooked French toast slices from pan and place on baking sheet in your preheated oven while you work on the next batch. Work quickly, as they will begin to dry out after 20 minutes or so. Also, don’t cover while in the oven, as you don’t want the French toast to get soggy.
Repeat with remaining bread, adding more butter to the pan as needed.
PREPARE BANANAS FOSTER SAUCE: In a large skillet over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add in the brown sugar and pure maple syrup continue to and cook, whisking until the sugar has melted and mixture is bubbling and starting to thicken, about 5 minutes.
Add in the cinnamon, heavy cream, and salt and whisk to combine. Using a silicone spatula, fold in the pecans, and stir until completely coated.
Fold in the banana slices and gently stir until evenly coated. Cook for 1 minute. Be sure not to overcook here, or your bananas will become mushy.
Remove the pan from heat and stir in the rum. Return the pan to the heat and cook for another minute to burn off the alcohol, leaving you with just a perfect rum taste.
Remove warm French Toast from oven and place on platter; pour Bananas Foster Sauce on top – serve immediately!
Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, or additional sliced bananas and pecans.

YIELD: 4 servings

RECIPE NOTES:

Do I need to use Brioche? The most important ingredient in this recipe is the brioche! With its signature golden color, buttery sweetness and rich taste, it’s the perfect bread to start with for perfect French Toast! If you can’t find brioche, feel free to substitute challah bread. While both breads are rich yeasted breads, brioche is French and made with plenty of butter and much richer than challah. The butter helps give brioche a lighter, fluffier texture and a sweeter flavor. Try to buy the bread from a bakery a day or two before you intend on using it, as slightly stale bread actually works best for French toast!
Can I use milk rather than heavy cream or half & half? You could, but heavy cream or half & half create a richer custard. Although this recipe uses heavy cream or half & half, you can use any type of milk to make French toast. Whole milk, skim milk, fat-free milk or heavy cream can be used. Obviously, heavy cream makes the richest custard. If you want to make dairy free French toast, almond milk or soy milk can be used as well.
Cinnamon Sugar Sprinkle? One of my favorite tricks is to sprinkle both sides of French toast with cinnamon sugar while it is cooking. This is just a little something extra that helps caramelize the toast and adds a little sweet crunch to the outside.
How do I keep my French Toast from getting soggy? The best tip is to start with bread that is 2 or 3 days old or oven-dry the bread – fresh and tender bread will soak up too much of the custard and you’ll end up with soggy slices. To oven-dry the bread, place the bread slices on a baking sheet and bake in a 275° F oven for about 30 to 45 minutes (depending on the thickness of the bread) flipping the slices at least once for even drying.
Also, make sure you don’t dip the bread into the custard for too long. 2 to 3 seconds is all the time needed for the brioche to soak in the rich custard.
Keep French Toast Warm: If you’re preparing this for a crowd, you’ll want to keep this warm to serve everyone at the same time. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees, and keep the cooked French toast slices on a baking sheet in your preheated oven while you work on the next batch. Work quickly, as they will begin to dry out after 20 minutes or so. Also, don’t cover while in the oven, as you don’t want the French toast to get soggy.
Banana Tip: Unlike most baking recipes that call for ripe bananas, for this recipe you’ll want to use very firm bananas so that they hold their shape and don’t get mushy from being cooked.
Can I leave out the Rum? The alcohol in the rum burns off when you simmer the sauce, making this French toast recipe kid friendly! If you prefer to stay away from spirits, you can substitute rum extract for flavor. You can also substitute another liquor, such as bourbon or brandy. I use dark rum, but white rum can also be used.
If you want to make the Bananas Foster Sauce taste like a true New Orleans experience, you can make this recipe a little more boozy by adding an extra tablespoon or two of dark rum or even some banana liqueur – no need to flambé! Traditional flambéing of Bananas Foster Sauce does provide a dramatic effect—hypnotic flames skipping across swirls caramelized bananas in a sweet rum sauce, but this Bananas Foster French Toast is pretty spectacular without that step!

Original recipe posted June 2016; revised and reposted June 2022.

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