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Saturday 10 May 2014

Doughnut French Toast : The PERFECT Weekend Brunch

So, in celebration of losing 4 stone 3 lbs in total now since having Bert, I have spoilt myself and the hubster with a very awesome Saturday brunch. I first saw this being cooked by the kitchen goddess herself Nigella, and have had it in my head ever since. Everything about this recipe appeals to me. 

1) It is a very quick and very easy make.
2) I tend to have almost all of the ingredients hanging around in my cupboards. 
3) It is inexpensive for a 'treat' brunch.
4) It tastes of doughnuts. Nuff said!

The recipe is called Doughnut French Toast, but it doesn't actually use doughnuts, it just evokes that flavour - in its essence it is French toast/Eggy bread flavoured with vanilla extract and coated in sugar to give a doughnut-like sugary crust. Served with a strawberry coulis to emulate the strawberry jam inside a doughnut. What could be better?

See Nigella's original recipe here

DOUGHNUT FRENCH TOAST 

(Serves 2)

Ingredients for the French Toast:

2 thick slices of fresh cut white bread (I used a split tin 800g loaf) around 70g bread per slice - thick cut. 

2 eggs

4 teaspoons of good vanilla extract 

60ml milk (I used skimmed as its all we have at home, but a full fat milk would add extra decadence)

25g butter (for frying)

1/2 tbsp flavourless oil (for frying)

50g caster sugar (you won't use every grain of sugar but most of it will stick to the hot vanilla bread)


Ingredients for the coulis:

100g strawberries 

a few teaspoons of icing sugar (to taste)

Method:

1. Beat the eggs with the milk and vanilla extract and pour into a shallow rectangular dish (that will fit both slices of bread side by side). 



2. Soak the bread for 5 minutes each side in the eggy/vanilla mixture until all of the egg has soaked into the bread. 

vanilla custard soaked bread 

3. Heat the butter and oil together in a large frying pan until just starting to foam and then add both slices of bread, frying and turning until the pieces are scorched and golden, and springy to touch. 

frying away in delicious butteriness 

4. While the bread is cooking cut up the fresh strawberries and sprinkle over the icing sugar - use a stick/hand blender to blitz it to a puree/sauce ready for dipping your bread in. 

5. Put the caster sugar on a plate and when the bread is cooked dip it in the sugar to form a slight sugary crust all over the bread - until its coated like a sugared doughnut. 

6. Cut and serve with the strawberry coulis on the side. 

This Doughnut French Toast works out at around 510 calories per portion (using skimmed milk, obviously it would be slightly higher using full fat)

T'ah D'ah! Brunch is served! 

OOOOOOOhhhhhhhh! It is just SO GOOD. 

Nigella has done it again! AMAZING! :-)

Who could resist?

Honestly, this simple brunch is absolutely delicious - filling, decadent and totally tastes like a doughnut. It would be a perfect brunch to knock up when you have house guests, and far less fiddly (& less calories) than a fry up! 

We are having this again tomorrow - I'm not even ashamed. 

:-)

Happy Brunch guys, enjoy!

Mrs B

xxx