I love French toast. I mean, who doesn’t? It’s creamy; crunchy; fluffy; hopefully, doused in maple syrup. Divine.
One of the many reasons to love the decadent brekkie is its adaptability; old white sliced pan can be subbed for hardening sourdough, stiff panettone, and rubbery brioche. Once, I even French toast-ed some leftover fruit cake (not bad, if you’re wondering).
Whatever you have on hand goes, the glorious food’s logic says; just dip the carbs in eggs, spices, and milk, fry the slices, and you’re good to go.
Starches change more often than liquids, however. And having recently tried alternative methods, I’ve got to say; the eggs can stay, but I don’t think you should limit yourself to plain ol’ milk anymore.
Having recently tried using Baileys as an alternative, I’ve been sold on the rich, sweet, caramel-y booziness. The sugary, dairy-rich mix already provides a base for the toast; it only becomes richer and more toffee-like as it fries.
So, I thought I’d share some more of my fave alternatives.
Custard is king
With this ingredient, you don’t have to mix eggs in with the milk ― they’re already emulsified into a perfectly smooth, creamy deliciousness.
I also swear by replacing my usual milk with old, cold chai (milk boiled with split cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and a teabag for my recipe; there are lots of variations). Strain the flavoured milk before cooling and mixing it with the egg.
Sour cream French toast provides a tangy, tender alternative. The truly decadent among us will love ice cream French toast for its sweet, velvety goodness too ― again, in this case, you can sub the egg out for more melted ice cream.
By the way, I also recommend you pull a Christina Tosi (of Milk Bar in New York) and double-breakfast your breakfast. By which I mean you can create (or use up, if you’re not against that) cereal milk by steeping the liquid in a cereal of your choice; let it sit for at least 15 minutes before straining for a delicious liquid.
And if you love (like, really love) the flavour of your new dip, consider replacing bread with something with more surface area, like a crumpet (sorry to the good people of France, but a Bailey’s soaked crumpet should still count, in my opinion).
Basically, the world’s your oyster ― so long as you promise to give something other than milk a try, at least once. I reckon you’ll never go back.