The secret is out (to my very yummy french toast)

It is possibly too good to keep a secret any longer.

We have a family breakfast together once a week, for no particular reason and on no set day. Normally it's just at home, with me making something that is a little more decadent than oats or cereal or toast. Sometimes we make gorgeous scrambled eggs or even a big breakfast or pancakes. But one thing that has to be planned for, which makes it a little more special because of the anticipation of the next morning's breakfast, is french toast.

If you haven't had french toast made with cream and orange zest before, well, you don't know what you are missing out on. I stumbled across this idea somewhere along the way to becoming a fully functioning adult who cooks and cleans and gardens. Today I made the decadent version with cream, but it does still work with all milk. I use 4 eggs, but the average egg size from our chooks is 75-80g, so you may like to use an extra egg or two, depending on the size eggs you get.

French toast
1 baguette or vienna loaf, sliced
butter, for cooking

egg mix
4 free range eggs
½ cup cream
½ cup milk
zest of 1 orange
1 tsp vanilla extract

strawberry syrup
250g frozen or fresh strawberries
¼ cup orange juice
zest ½ orange
1 tbsp sugar
1 tspn cornflour mixed in a little cold water, optional

to serve
maple syrup
2 oranges, sliced
8 short cut rashers bacon, pan cooked until crispy
thick yoghurt such as Gippsland fruit yoghurt

Method
Whisk together ingredients for egg mix. Dip in slices of bread into the egg mix, ensuring the mixture seeps through the bread.

Place a small amount of butter into the pan and heat. Place eggy bread into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked.

Meanwhile, place the ingredients for the strawberry syrup, except the cornflour, in a small pan and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until the strawberries have defrosted and collapsed and a syrup is forming with the juices. To thicken the juices, stir in the cornflour and stir gently until thickened.

If cooking the french toast in batches, keep cooked toast warm on a plate under a large upturned bowl.


So while there are oranges hanging on the trees, get out there and give it a try.