CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST
This is one of the most delectable breakfast/brunch foods ever. Challah bread is traditional Kosher Jewish braided bread. It is spongy with a nice crust to give a variety of texture when biting into it; hence making it excellent to use for French toast and desserts in general. While this recipe is for Challah French Toast, the same ingredients and technique can be used with other breads of your choice.
I first tried Challah French Toast at a popular brunch restaurant in Philadelphia and decided I would make it my own way, with a South Asian touch. Don’t worry, our French toast isn’t spicy! South Asian French toast is made so that syrup isn’t needed because we add sugar to our egg mixture. However, I did add syrup to mine as I have been working on the perfect autumn Apple Cider Maple syrup recipe (coming tomorrow!) and finally have it down! If you decide to use maple syrup on your French toast, cut down or eliminate the sugar in the egg batter.
The end result is out of this world with chewy crust, softer center, sweet, hint of nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon. This is the recipe perfect brunch dreams are made of.
Such a beautiful loaf of Challah bread!
Freshly ground spices are in a category of their own!
Ingredients: -Challah bread – cut into one inch slices. I used a little over half the loaf in my recipe. -Eggs – 3 -Milk – ½ cup -Heavy cream – ¼ cup (optional, can add more milk instead) -Vanilla extract – ½ tsp -Nutmeg powder – 1/8 tsp -Cinnamon powder – 1/8 tsp -Cardamom powder – 1 pinch (a little goes a long way) -Sugar – ½ cup or to taste (reduce or eliminate if planning to use maple syrup on top of toast) Butter – 1 tbsp Instructions: 1. Heat up cast-iron skillet between medium and high flame. Don’t let it start smoking. You can use any frying pan with a thick base. I love my cast iron pans, so prefer to use them. 2. Add eggs, milk, heavy cream, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly 3. Dip bread slices into egg mixture. Let each side rest in the mixture for 25 to 30 seconds so the slices of bread absorb enough mixture. 4. Add a pat of butter to the heated pan and spread evenly 5. Put battered bread slices into the pan, reduce heat to medium and let each side cook for 3-4 minutes or until they reach your desired brownness. 6. Serve warm with freshly whipped cream, fruit topping and with maple syrup if sugar was not used or reduced in the egg mixture.
Check this page tomorrow for a delicious Apple Cider Maple Syrup recipe!
Enjoy!
