With The Boy off sunning himself in France for a week without me, rather than crying into my tea and toast I decided to treat myself to a very indulgent breakfast to enjoy with some freshly brewed coffee. I awoke to a bright, sunny day, a tidy house, and a stack of magazines to catch up on. I'd also had the foresight to stock up on brioche, eggs, milk and créme fraîche on my way home from work the night before. My conclusion? Being home alone isn't all bad and such a beautiful day calls for Naughty French Toast for breakfast!
What you'll need:
2-4 slices of Chocolate Chip Brioche loaf, depending on how big they are (and how hungry you are!)
2 eggs
100ml milk
1 tbsp cinnamon sugar
10g butter (unsalted) plus a little more for spreading
Créme fraîche, to serve (optional)
What to do:
1. Whilst making your coffee, remove your butter from the fridge so it has time to soften slightly.
2. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and mix with the milk and cinnamon sugar. I use some lovely homemade cinnamon sugar in my French toast, courtesy of the talented and creative Best Friend Jess.
3. Thinly butter the brioche slices. If using plain brioche slices you might like to spread a jam or jelly on the brioche instead. Sweet jams might be too much with the cinnamon so try something slightly tart such as cranberry jelly.
4. Put two slices together, butter in the middle, to form a brioche sandwich.
5. Heat the 10g butter in a frying pan. Coat one of the sandwiches in the egg mix and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side. The first sandwich usually takes 2 minutes on the first side and slightly less on the other side. I find the subsequent sandwiches require less cooking time. If you're not sure, take a peek at the underside to check for burning and flip when ready.
6. Slice diagonally and serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar and a dollop of créme fraîche. Delicious!
Enjoy! :-)
P.s. Sorry if this shatters anyone's romantic illusions of enjoying French toast alongside traditional pastries in Parisian cafés or on terraces of rustic, ancient chateaux overlooking France's finest vines, but French Toast wasn't actually invented in France. Shock horror. Theories on the dish's origin range from Medieval Europe to 17th century America, where it was traditionally made with stale bread and not necessarily with eggs. Brioche, however, is most definitely French so I hope this petit twist on the traditional recipe pleases other Francophiles as much as it does me!
