French Toast with Fresh Berries

FRENCH TOAST with FRESH BERRIES

6/5/2018

My name is Mama V and I have a serious addiction. Seasonal summer berries! The second you walk into the grocery store or farmers' market this time of year, you are met with baskets of the most glorious fresh berries. And they all leap into my cart as I walk by...first the red luscious strawberries, next the plump blueberries, at least two baskets of sweet red raspberries, and perhaps some blackberries. I just can't help myself!

The task at hand is to find the sweetest and juiciest berries around, all so that I can make up a batch or two of our favorite French Toast and top that off with the freshest berries to tempt your eyes and tongue. Whether we're camping or at home, one of our favorite breakfasts is French Toast with Fresh Berries, served with butter and warm maple syrup. There's nothing fancy about this recipe, but it is consistently perfect and one that everyone wants on a lazy summer morning. This family-favorite recipe has a little secret that just takes it over the top!

World's Best French Toast with Fresh Berries

To start this off, I always reach for a fresh loaf of brioche, crusty French or sourdough bread from the bakery, and I slice it at home into nice, thick one-inch slices. The perfect size for dunking into a perfectly custardy egg & cream filling.

My secret touch? I sprinkle each side with cinnamon sugar before grilling it up. As it cooks, the cinnamon sugar lightly crystalizes on the outside of the bread - not enough that anyone even knows that it is there, but it just adds something special to both the texture and flavor of this wonderful French Toast.

And just because you should, spread a little sweet creamy butter on top of each slice as you take it off the griddle. Drizzled with warm maple syrup and topped with your favorite fresh berries? Breakfast perfection! Hope that you enjoy this as much as my family does!

Cinnamon French Toast with Berries

Perfect French Toast with Berries

FRENCH TOAST with
FRESH BERRIES

Whether we’re camping or at home, one of our favorite breakfasts is French Toast with Fresh Berries, served with butter and warm maple syrup. A light sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar while it is frying gives you a delicate and sweet golden edge – SO GOOD!

French Toast with Fresh Berries

INGREDIENTS:
1 bakery loaf fresh brioche, crusty French or sourdough bread*
4 large eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup whole milk (room temperature)
1/4 cup heavy cream (room temperature)
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
½ Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar (blended and in a shaker, for sprinkling)
Butter for griddle and for serving

Warm maple syrup
Fresh Seasonal Berries: Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries – sliced bananas are pretty wonderful too!

HOW I MAKE THIS:

Remove eggs, milk and cream from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Slice your bread into 1-inch slices and allow to sit unwrapped until you are ready to use.
Preheat a non-stick electric griddle to 350 degrees (or heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle pan over medium-low heat).
In a large shallow baking dish, whisk together the eggs with cinnamon. Add in the whole milk, cream, sugar and vanilla and whisk until fluffy and well-blended.
Butter griddle just before you'll be adding bread.
Working with one slices of bread at a time, dip bread into mixture (if using brioche dip quickly, heartier French bread may need to soak a little longer), flip and dip opposite side.
Place on griddle, and sprinkle the top side liberally with cinnamon sugar. Let cook until golden brown on bottom, about 2-3 minutes, then flip and sprinkle top with additional cinnamon sugar. Cook until bottom until golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. The cinnamon sugar that you have lightly sprinkled on the bread will start to crystalize (or caramelize) slightly as it cooks – SO GOOD!
If you are not cooking all of the French Toast at the same time, add additional butter to your griddle between batches.
Serve warm with butter and warm maple syrup and seasonal fresh berries. You can also dust with powdered sugar if you want to be extra-fancy!

YIELD: 4 servings

RECIPE NOTES*:
Bakery bread works the best for this recipe – you want to be able to slice the bread yourself into slices about 1-inch thick.

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