Stuffed French Toast & A Visit From The Fairy Hobmother!

Stuffed French Toast is one of those things that I've always wanted to try, but never actually got around to doing.  During my visits back home to Canada and while on holiday in the US, stuffed french toast was always one of those things on a menu that called my name, yet for some reason I just never ordered it.  Then before I knew it, my holiday would be over, and I'd have to fly back to the UK where sweet and yummy treats just don't make their way onto the breakfast table - it's just sausages, beans, mushrooms, fried eggs and grilled tomatoes here I'm afraid.  

Because I always seem to miss the opportunity to order stuffed french toast while on holiday, it's been on my "to bake" list for quite some time now.   The other thing that's been on my "to bake" list for even longer is cinnamon raisin bread.  I have a strange obsession with cinnamon raisin bread.  It's one of my favorite things to eat in the morning, all nice and toasted with a bit of melty butter on top!  

I'd been on the hunt for a good cinnamon raisin bread recipe for ages, but it seemed like every one I came across needed a bread maker.  And since I didn't have a bread maker, my search for the perfect recipe continued without much success.  So when I recently came across a blog post on Lay The Table saying that the Fairy Hobmother would grant one readers wish, I got super excited and commented straight away, wishing for a bread maker (or an ice cream maker - I couldn't decide!). 

If you're a regular reader of blogs in the UK, then you're probably pretty familiar with The Fairy Hobmother.  For those of you who aren't familiar with The Fairy Hobmother, she (aka: he) works for Appliances Online, and spends her days visiting blogs and granting wishes! Pretty cool huh?

So, about a month ago I was surprised, but thrilled to see an email in my inbox from the Fairy Hobmother letting me know that my wish had been granted!!  Since I had wished for an ice cream maker or a bread maker, I was told that I could have my choice as to which one I wanted.  It was a hard decision, but I ended up going with the bread maker after remembering all those times I had wanted to bake cinnamon raisin bread, but was never able to.

A few days later, my brand new shiny bread maker arrived, and I have to say I've really been enjoying it!  The great thing about this bread maker (Morphy Richards Daily Loaf) is that it makes loaves 1/2 the size of regular loaves, which is perfect if you live alone, or if you don't eat a lot of bread (like my husband and I).  So far I've made several types of bread, but of course cinnamon raisin had to be the first!  Because this bread maker makes a smaller loaf than normal, I decided it was probably best to use the recipes that were supplied with the machine.  I won't bother including the recipe since most people probably don't have this bread maker, but if I could say one thing about it, it would be that I would double the cinnamon and raisins as I didn't think there was enough of either in the bread, but never the less it was still good.  

So after baking my first loaf of cinnamon raisin bread I decided it would be the perfect excuse to bake stuffed french toast with.  I made my stuffed french toast by cutting extra thick slices of my cinnamon raisin bread, and then making an incision in the bottom of the slice where I could put the filling.  I think this is probably the best way of making stuffed french toast, but if you can't find unsliced loaves of bread, then you can use 2 slices of regular bread, but you'll just need to be careful not to overfill them with the filling, because it will leak out the sides.

Cinnamon Raisin Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients: 

4 thick slices of cinnamon raisin bread

6oz (170g) Cream Cheese
1 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

2 Eggs
2/3 Cup (160ml) Milk
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of salt 

Instructions:  

1.  Using a sharp knife, make a cut in the bottom of each slice of bread and carefully work your way up 3/4 of the way inside so a little pocket forms.  Set aside

2.  In a small bowl, whip or mix the cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon together until well combined.  Fill a piping bag fitted with a large metal tip with the cream cheese mixture (if you don't have a piping bag - don't worry, you can use a small spoon - a piping bag is just easier). Now take your pieces of bread and insert the metal tip into the opening you cut earlier.  Squeeze gently until you've filled the inside pocket of your bread with the cream cheese mixture.  If you don't have a piping bag, just use a small spoon to carefully spoon the cream cheese mixture into the pocket, making sure not to tear the bread.  Do not overfill.

3.  In a shallow container whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and vanilla.  Heat a non stick frying pan over medium high heat, and coat with non stick cooking spray or a bit of butter or non stick cooking spray.  Pick up a piece of the prepared bread with a fork and lay it flat in the milk and egg mixture.  Let the bread soak up a bit of the liquid (approx 30 seconds) before flipping over to soak the other side (again for approx 30 seconds).  Place in pan, and cook until golden brown before flipping. Once both sides are cooked, place the French toast on a place and sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with syrup.

Tip:  Immediately after placing the soaked bread in the frying pan, I place a lid over the bread in order to help cook the bread thoroughly and prevent it from getting soggy.   

I'm really loving my new bread maker, and I still quite can't believe that the Fairy Hobmother chose to grant my wish!  And here's the best part of the whole thing - I can now pass my luck on to someone else, and it could be you!  All you have to do is leave a comment below telling the Fairy Hobmother what you wish for and it may just come true!!  If you need some inspiration for your wish, then pop on over to Appliances Online - they've got some great things there - especially the Pink Smeg Fridge! 

Good Luck!!!!

Bananas Make The Bestest Bread!

This banana bread is probably one of my favorite things that my mom made for us while growing up.  She'd always bake two loaves - one with nuts (bleh!) for her and my dad, and one with chocolate chips (yay!) for me and my brother.  I've mentioned before, that I have a horrible habit of buying fruit and not finishing it in time before it goes bad.  This especially goes for bananas.  I like my bananas pretty ripe - with no green what so ever, and preferably all yellow with a tiny hint of brown.  The problem is, is that if I buy 3-4 bananas and wait until they get to the right colour for me to eat, then inevitably there's going to be at least one of two that will get too brown by the time I get around to eating them.  Again, my solution is to freeze them.  Just peel the bananas and throw them in a ziplock bag and then into the freezer.  

I don't really mind having a freezer full of frozen bananas because it means that I can thaw them out to make a loaf or two of this fabulous banana bread.  It really is the best banana bread I've ever had, and I've tried a lot over the years.  Aside from cupcakes, it's probably the thing that disappears the fastest when I bring it into the office.  It's super moist, and loved by numerous people I know that actually hate bananas - including my husband.

One thing to note is that this recipe fills a standard North American loaf pan perfectly, but UK loaf pans are slightly smaller, so there's just a tad too much batter.  If you're using a standard UK pan, then you may need to have a small ramekin on hand to pour the extra batter in, so you'll end up with an extra mini loaf / muffin. And even though it's called banana bread, it's more of a load cake, and not bready at all.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 Cups (250g) Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 Cup (115g) Butter

1 Cup (225g) Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Cup (250ml) Banana, mashed - about 3 frozen or very ripe bananas

1/3 Cup (80ml) Milk

1 tsp Lemon Juice or White Vinegar

1 Cup Chocolate Chips (or Nuts)

Instructions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 350ºF (175ºC).  Grease a loaf pan with non stick cooking spray, or butter and line with parchment.  Sift flour, baking soda and salt together and set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  

3.  Measure your milk in a measuring cup and add the lemon juice or vinegar to it.  Stir, and set aside for 5 minutes until it's curdled. 

4.  Alternating between the flour mixture and milk, combine each with the butter, egg and sugar mixture, making sure stir until just combined before adding in the next bit.  I usually dive each ingredient into thirds when alternating and mixing together.

5.  Once everything has been combined, stir in the bananas and chocolate chips (or nuts).  Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan, and bake for 45 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick that's been inserted into the center of the load comes out clean.  Let the loaf cool completely in the pan before removing to cut.

* I've mentioned before that my oven is basically crap, and because it only has a top heating element, loaves like this take longer to cook and they also brown faster on top.  At around the 40 min mark, I usually cover the top of my pan with foil to prevent further browning, and leave it to bake for another 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes clean.

I'm not sure why, but my family has always eaten this banana bread with butter.  It's totally unnecessary, but it's really good.  This banana bread freezes very well, so it's a nice thing to bake and throw into the freezer so it's ready to bring out an hour or so before company drops by.  Cutting the banana bread while still slightly frozen makes it a bit easier to slice.  I took these pictures while the banana bread was still slightly frozen, so it appears a bit dry in the pictures, but it's NOT!  I promise!  Enjoy!

And now to announce the giveaway winner of the beautiful apron from Cooking Gorgeous!  A big congratulations goes to Nickie who won with her bonus entry for tweeting about the giveaway!  Nickie, I'll be in touch shortly with more details on how to claim your prize! 

Lemon & Lime Blueberry Strusel Muffins

Lately I've been on a bit of a fruit kick, but I'll admit that sometimes I buy too much which results in some of the fruit going a bit mouldy before I can eat it.  To avoid this I'll often throw what I know I can't eat into the freezer so I can use it in smoothies or muffins later.  I love muffins.  Blueberry are probably my favorite, but I've just never found a blueberry muffin recipe that I was 100% satisfied with - until now.  Last week I was cleaning out our fridge & freezer when I came across a few things that I just knew once combined would make a super delicious muffin.  Frozen blueberries, a few lemons and limes, and some sour cream.  The results were delicious.  They're not too greasy, and they've got just the right amount of lemon & lime zest in them.  I would definitely make again - and that's saying a lot, because although 99% of the things I bake are totally yummy I don't usually bake the same thing more than once because I'm always looking to try something new. 

I prefer to use frozen blueberries in these muffins because they're solid, so won't turn your batter purple when stirring them in.  You can either purchase pre-frozen blueberries, or do what I do and just buy a container of fresh blueberries and pop them straight in the freezer.

Lemon & Lime Blueberry Strusel Muffins
Makes 12 Muffins

Muffin Ingredients:

2 Eggs
3/4 Cup (170g) White Sugar
3/4 Cup (150g) Brown (Muscavado) Sugar
1/2 Cup (125ml) Vegetable Oil
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup (250ml) Sour Cream
2 Cups (250g) Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 Tbsp Lemon Zest (approx 3 Lemons)
1/2 Tbsp Lime Zest (approx 2 Limes)
1 1/2 Cups Frozen Blueberries

Strusel Topping:

2 Tbsp + 1 tsp (32g) Butter
1/3 Cup + 1 Tbsp (78g) Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup (32g) Flour
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Lemon Zest

1.  Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper muffin liners.  In a small bowl combine all of the Strusel topping ingredients and basically smoosh them together with your hands until small little crumbly bits form.  Set aside.

2.  In one bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon and set aside.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs, while gradually adding the sugars.  Next gradually pour in the oil and continue beating.  Lastly add in the vanilla and sour cream and mix until combined. 

3.  Gently fold the dry ingredients in with the wet until just combined.  It's ok if there's a few lumps - just make sure not to over mix.  Lastly add in the blueberries, lemon and lime zest and lightly stir until just combined.  Pour and divide the mixture evenly into your muffin pan and sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a generous amount of the strusel topping.  Bake for 20 - 25 mins (until a toothpick comes out clean).  Let the muffins cool slightly before serving. 

The only thing I would have done differently with this recipe would have been to add a bit more strusel topping on each muffin.  I sprinkled what looked like an ok amount on top of the unbaked muffins, but once they cooked and puffed up a it the strusel topping looked a bit wimpy on top.  I'd recommend covering the entire top in strusel topping, which should result in a nicer look, crunch & flavour once the muffins are baked.

These muffins freeze well in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to a month.  When you're ready to eat them simply take them out of the freezer about an hour before and leave them to defrost at room temperature uncovered (so the tops don't go soft & sticky)

Enjoy!

Pick Your Perfect Pancake!

Having pancakes for dinner was always an exciting treat when I was a kid, but c'mon - who wouldn't like pancakes for dinner?  I'll admit, having pancakes for dinner wasn't a once a year occurrence.  It probably happened 2 or 3 times a year, but one of those times was always on Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Tuesday.  Growing up in Canada, it was also quite common to hear Shrove Tuesday referred to as Fat Tuesday by our Southern neighbours in New Orleans.

I was a bit surprised to see how popular Pancake Tuesday was in the UK when I first moved here 3 years ago.  In Canada lots of people celebrate Shrove Tuesday, but there's not really any heavy marketing or promotions around it at all - at least not on the West Coast where I'm from. But here in the UK, they're pancake crazy!  For the last few weeks grocery stores have had their special Pancake Day displays all set up.  They feature everything you'll need to make the perfect pancake - from syrup, flour and eggs (if you plan on making your own), to "just add water" pancake mixes.  And sometimes even the frying pan!  

I was really excited to see how popular pancake day is here.  It seems like a lot of people throw pancake parties and invite their friends and family over to share in the fun.  It wasn't until I was invited to my first pancake party 3 years ago that I discovered there is one major difference between North American and UK pancakes!  The pancakes I grew up with were the fluffy buttermilk variety.  The kind that you stack up high and put lots of butter and syrup on.  And the syrup had to be Aunt Jemima syrup - nothing else would do!  So imagine my surprise when I found out that the most popular topping for pancakes in the UK is lemon juice and sugar!  Ack! What happened to the syrup??? (and I'm not talking about Lyle's Golden Syrup!)  I just didn't understand how anyone could actually like their nice fluffy pancakes soaked in lemon juice with a bit of added sugar.  What I didn't realise was that the pancakes here in the UK are completely different than the pancakes I was used to back home.  You see, a UK pancake isn't really a pancake at all - well, not to me at least.  A UK pancakes is actually much closer to a crepe than it is to a North American pancake.  They're really thin, and not fluffy at all.  And you know what? They actually do taste pretty good with lemon juice and sugar!  Because a UK pancake isn't fluffy and spongy like a North American pancake, they don't soak up whatever topping you put on them.  So, when you add a squeeze of lemon juice and a few spoonful's of sugar on top of a UK pancake, you're actually left with a deliciously sweet and tangy version of a simple syrup.  The end result is almost like a freshly squeezed lemonade syrup (that's "cloudy lemonade" to the UK people reading this!). 

I've made the UK variety of pancakes several times now, and each time I like them more and more.  Because they're not as big and fluffy as the North American pancake, they're also not as filling, which I think is why a lot of people here that I've talked to have pancakes for dessert and not for dinner, but I do know people that have them for dinner as well. 

See how thin they are!

Because the UK pancake is similar to a crepe, it also lends itself to be stuffed, coated and topped with hundreds of delicious flavours - savoury or sweet.  Other popular pancake toppings include Nutella, ice cream & caramel sauce, caramel sauce & apple, whipped cream & fruit - the possibilities are endless.  I choose to stick with lemon juice and sugar, as I find it really nice and refreshing - especially after considering that I'd also made a batch of fluffy North American pancakes studded with a handful or two of chocolate chips.  I've been using both these recipes for quite a while now.  I can't even remember where I got them from originally, but over the years I've made several tweaks here and there, and am very happy with the way both of these turn out.  So, here are two fabulous pancake recipes.  I'll let you decide on which one you want to make, but just be sure to make them tomorrow - Tuesday March 8th, 2011 - Pancake Day!!!

Perfect UK Pancakes

Makes nine 8 inch Pancakes 

55g (just under 1/2 Cup) Flour

1 Egg

150ml (5oz) Whole Milk

1/2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

Pinch of Salt

Lemon wedges

Castor Sugar

1. Put the flour and salt in a bowl and make a small well in the center.  Add in the egg, oil and about 25ml of the milk.  Using a whisk, start mixing the ingredients together, working your way from the inside out until all the ingredients are incorporated into a smooth thick paste.  

2.  Add in 1/3 of the remaining milk and whisk again until incorporated. Now pour the remaining milk into the bowl while whisking, and continue to whisk until everything is incorporated.  The consistency should be very liquidy.

3. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes.  In the meantime, pre-heat an 8 inch non-stick pan over medium heat.  Spray with non-stick cooking spray such as Pam, or pour in a teaspoon of oil into the pan and spread it around with a paper towel.  When you're ready to cook your pancakes pour 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan.  Quickly tilt the pan, and rotate it so the batter evenly coats the bottom of the pan. Cook for 30-40 seconds on each side.  Repeat until you've used up all of your batter.  

4. Serve your pancakes hot with a wedge or two of freshly squeezed lemon, and a tablespoon or two of castor sugar. 

Fluffy North American Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Makes eight 4 inch pancakes 

3/4 Cup (180ml) Whole Milk

2 Tbsp White Vinegar

1 Cup (125g) Flour

2 Tbsp (28g) Sugar

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Egg

2 Tbsp Melted Butter

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/3 Cup (approx 2 handfuls) Chocolate Chips

1. Combine the milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside to sour for 5 minutes.  

2. Combine your dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  After the milk has sat and soured for 5 minutes add in the egg, melted butter and vanilla extract and whisk until combined.  Pour the milk and egg mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until all the lumps are gone. Whisk in the chocolate chips, and let the batter sit for 5 minutes until the top gets frothy and bubbly. DO NOT STIR AGAIN! Leave the batter alone - you want it to be bubbly and frothy.

3. Pre-heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.  Once the pan is ready pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan.  Once bubbles start to appear, and then pop on the tops of your pancakes it's time to flip them. Cook until both sides are golden brown.

Serve with butter and syrup.  Whipped cream and berries is another one of my favourite toppings. Enjoy!

Yum!!!

Hooray for Holland!

I took a break from baking last weekend and instead spent it soaking up the sights and sunshine in beautiful Amsterdam.  I'd never been to Amsterdam before, but I can assure you I'd go back in a heartbeat. While I was there I came across a store called Iholtz that sold imported American food.  I cannot tell you how tempting it was to have so many sought after North American baking ingredients at my fingertips! I was amazed at the selection of products they carried - everything from Campbells soup and Betty Crocker Cake Mixes to the elusive Peanut Butter M&M.  They even had my beloved Aunt Jemima pancake syrup - although it was the American high fructose corn syrup version.  Of course, the shop was filled with American tourists complaining about how expensive everything was.  It's true, the prices were ridiculous, but so are a lot of things in Europe.  I decided I wasn't in dire need of anything particular (I have a stockpile of North American goodies at home anyway), but I did purchase a big tub of tiny silver balls to add to my growing collection of sprinkles.  

I also picked up some cute little cupcake flags at a neat store called Hema.  They were one of the few things I managed to grab moments before the store closed.  I had planned on going back to Hema the following day so I could get a better look at all the neat things they sold, but never got a chance due to a bout of food poisoning from of a dodgy noodle bar that we ate at the night before.

The addition to my sprinkles collection didn't end at the silver balls.  I also picked up several boxes of De Ruijter sprinkles which are a Dutch breakfast specialty.  They're traditionally served sprinkled over toast, but I figured they'd also work on cupcakes and cakes.  I remember seeing these in the grocery stores back in Canada when I was a kid, but I never tried them  Given how close the UK is to the Netherlands, I find it odd that I haven't been able to find them in the grocery stores here.  These boxes are huge and were really inexpensive - only about 1.50 each.  They'll last me a while.

While in Amsterdam I was able to try another Dutch breakfast specialty called poffertjes.  Poffertjes are basically mini pancake puffs topped off with syrup or fruit and whipped cream, or even ice cream. I had mine at a neat restaurant called De Carrousel Pannekoeken.  Their menu was amazing, they had so many different types of Dutch pancakes (pannekoeken) and poffertjes, but I finally decided on the poffertjes with strawberries and whipped and they are absolutely amazing.  They were warm little fluffy pockets drizzled with a yummy Dutch pancake syrup and covered with powdered sugar.  The strawberries and whipped cream was served on the side.  I have fallen in love with poffertjes, and am now on a mission to find a special poffertjes pan (a cast iron or non stick pan with little indents where the poffertjes are cooked).  I want one.  I NEED one.  I'm making it my mission to get one of these pans, and I won't stop until it's MINE!  I'll keep you updated on my search to find one.  So far I haven't found a place in the UK that sells poffertjes pans, but I won't stop until I get one - however long it takes.

I didn't have time to go shopping for a poffertjes pan before I left for the Amsterdam airport.  I had a look around in all of the airport shops, but I didn't have any luck.  I did find something else though.  More American food.  I'm not sure why they were selling it in the airport, but I took a few pictures to show you.  That's 6.00€ for a tub of icing!!

French Crepes with Salted Caramel

A friend from work recently went to the Brittany, France and brought me back some salted caramel in a jar.  Salted caramel is quite common in certain parts of France, specifically Brittany.  I'm not quite sure how to describe the flavour of salted caramel, but it's delicious,  It's not really salty, and it's not overly sweet.  I've only had salted caramel in macarons before, so  I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to use my big jar of it.  Another friend recommended spreading it on some crusty French bread or dipping sliced apples into it.  Although both of the suggestions sounded good, I wanted to save my jar of salted caramel for something special. Hmm, what would go well with French salted caramel?  How about French crepes! Creperies are all over France, but admittingly I've never been to one.  In fact, the only time I've had a crepe outside of my own home was from a street vendor in Paris where it was served with warm Nutella.  Delicious!  

I hadn't made crepes in ages, and I'm not really sure why to be honest.  They're so easy to make because they only require a few ingredients that you've probably already got in your cupboards at home.  I had originally planned on making a crepe filled with sauteed spiced apples mixed in with a bit of the salted caramel, but I didn't have any apples at home.  Instead, I kept them really simple by folding the crepes into triangles and drizzling them with the warm salted caramel sauce.  They were delicious!  But because it had been so long since I'd made crepes I wanted to try them with a few different toppings.  

Salted Caramel 

Blueberry - these were nice and light.  They would also be nice with a little bit of whipped cream on them.

Nutella - these were also very good, but I should have heated up my Nutella first before putting it on the crepe.

I actually don't have a picture of my favourite topping, but it was a combination of the Nutella spread on the inside of the crepe and then drizzled with the warm salted caramel sauce on top. It was the prefect combination of sweet and salty.  It was fabulous, and I'm definitely going to be making crepes again with these 2 toppings combined together.  If you're interested in making your own crepes I used the recipe below. 

 I halved the recipe and it made 5 crepes.  Yes - I halved an egg...

French Crepes:

1 cup (110g) all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

2 cups (500ml) milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons (30ml) melted butter 

1) Sift together flour, sugar and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk and vanilla together with an electric mixer. Beat in flour mixture until smooth; stir in melted butter. 

2) Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup (60ml) for each crepe. Tip and rotate pan to spread batter as thinly as possible. Brown on both sides and serve hot.  

Whenever I think of crepes I automatically think of dessert crepes, but there are so many savoury options out there as well.  Back when I lived in Canada there was a crepe place in the Vancouver BC ferry terminal.  I always wanted to try one, but they always seemed so expensive so I never bothered.  The one that stands out in my mind had ham, cheese and mushrooms in it. It was always so neat to watch them making their huge crepes and adding in the fillings before folding them up.  Sadly my crepe making technique isn't quite as refined, but I'm pretty satisfied with my results.  I have a feeling savoury crepes will be making an appearance at my dinner table in the near future.  If you'd prefer to make a savoury crepe rather than a sweet crepe simply omit the vanilla and reduce (or remove) the sugar in the crepe batter.

French Toast

There’s nothing I love more than to sit down to a freshly cooked breakfast on a Saturday morning.  For most North Americans a typical weekend breakfast would be a hearty omelet or something nice and sweet like pancakes, French toast or waffles, all topped off with syrup or fruit and whipped cream.  During my time in the UK I’ve found that people here just don’t really appreciate a sugary start to their weekend as much as we do back home.  A typical weekend breakfast for my friends here in the UK is a full English breakfast, commonly known as a “fry up”.  The English breakfast consists of eggs, back bacon and/or sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread or toast.  Since I grew up in Canada I have what I call a “Saturday Sweet Tooth”.  It’s been quite a while since I made French toast, so I figured it was about time I made a batch.  

Start out with the basics - milk and eggs. Add in some cinnamon and nutmeg, and a dash of vanilla.
 

  

You'll also need some equipment - a non-stick frying pan, a whisk and some measuring cups and spoons. And remember, everything tastes better when it's made with PINK!

 

Whisk everything together in a dish that's wide enough for the bread to lay down in.  Dip each piece of bread in the liquid and fry until golden brown on each side.

Pour on some syrup and enjoy.

Ta da!!!!!

Spiced French Toast:

2 eggs
2/3 cup (160 ml) milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
6 thick slices of bread

 

In a shallow container whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and vanilla.  Heat a non stick frying pan over medium high heat, and coat with non stick cooking spray or a bit of butter (see below).  Pick up a piece of bread with a fork and lay it flat in the milk and egg mixture.  Let the bread soak up a bit of the liquid (approx 20-30 seconds) before flipping over to soak the other side (again for 20-30 seconds).  Place in pan, and cook until golden brown before flipping. Once both sides are cooked, place the French toast on a place and sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with syrup or berries and whipped cream.

Hints:
 

•    I prefer to use bread from the bakery that hasn’t been pre-sliced, and is nearing its expiry date. The crustier the bread the better, that way it won’t get too soggy and fall apart when you soak it in the egg/milk mixture.  It also helps to cut your bread in thicker slices than you would normally.  A French baguette also works well with this recipe.
•    Immediately after placing the soaked bread in the frying pan, place a lid over the bread in order to help cook the bread thoroughly and prevent it from getting soggy.
•    Non-stick cooking spray helps cut down on calories, but also doesn’t burn as much as butter will.  Burnt butter will affect the taste your French toast and cause it to turn quite dark.  If you’d like you can spread a bit of butter on the French toast once it’s on your plate before drizzling with syrup.

I haven’t been able to find aerosol non-stick cooking spray here in the UK.  In fact the only thing I’ve been able to find is an olive oil pump spay, which works well for cooking, but doesn’t coat baking pans nearly as well as the aerosol stuff.  Luckily when we were in Texas a few months ago I picked up a can of the aerosol kind – it was even butter flavored!!!

I prefer to top my French toast off with syrup, and for me it’s gotta be Aunt Jemima!  Real pancake syrup was one of the first “North American” things I really missed when I moved here.  The UK sells something called Lyle's Golden Syrup, which was the closest thing to pancake syrup I could find, but for me it didn’t really come close.  The taste was totally different, and the consistency is a lot thicker than the syrup I’m used to.  Syrup in the UK is considered more of a dessert topping, and is often used on ice cream as well as waffles (which are much smaller than the ones in North America) and pancakes (which are closer to a crepe), both of which are more typically eaten as a dessert or “pudding” as it’s known in the UK.  Above are bottles of syrup from Canada, the US and the UK. Whenever I go back to North America I come back with an extra suitcase filled with food and baking supplies!  

On a side note, I found it interesting to compare my Canadian Aunt Jemima to the bottle I picked up in the US.  Although the name is the same "Aunt Jemima - Butter Flavored Syrup" the ingredients are very different. The Canadian version is made with regular sugar, while the American version is made with high fructose corn syrup.  I wonder if the corn syrup version will taste as good.  I'll report back in a few months.....