Its been a while.. hasn't it? I still cook everyday but I've been going through some things and writing took a back seat for a moment there. I hope you all can forgive the absence. I'm back with something perfect for the fall. Rich, buttery french toast accented with pumpkin pie spice and hints of rum. I cannot tell you all the failed attempts Ive had with french toast. I managed to take something so simple and ruin it by making it too soggy, or too eggy, to burnt...just wrong! This time I told myself if I messed up that I would throw in my french toast towel indefinitely. With a couple slices of my whole wheat country flax bread I made a few days prior and the "eye of the tiger", I went about one last attempt to prove I was worthy of the french toast badge...wait do the Girl Scouts have that?..I dunno..whatever. I followed Alton Brown's recipe which had rave reviews on the food network website. I noticed that the recipe didn't use any extracts or spices and already knew my taste buds wouldn't find that too appealing so I used some pumpkin pie spice I picked up at Trader Joes the day before in lieu of plain ole cinnamon. I also splashed in some mixed essence, vanilla extract,my favorite Angostura rum, and it was time to rock and roll. One thing I have to note with the recipe is that you may need to increase your custard mix by a third if you're like me using 1 inch thick slices of bread. The recipe overall is really easy and cannot be messed up. It was so nice that I made the recipe again within a few days using some challah bread I baked. I cant tell you all how absolutely delicious this french toast is(thanks to my changes). Just grab a couple slices of day old bread and try this out for yourself. Its perfect for breakfast or brunch and so versatile in that you can top it with anything from apple pie filling to fluffy whipped cream.
Spiced French Toast
serves 4
1 cup half and half
3 eggs
2 tbsp warmed honey(I used 4)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp mixed essence
1tbsp dark rum (I used Angostura Single Barrel)
1tbsp dark rum (I used Angostura Single Barrel)
(8) 1/2 inch slices of day old country bread, challah, or brioche bread
4 tbsp of unsalted butter
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Place a cooling rack on sheet pan and set to the side.
-Whisk together half and half, eggs, honey, salt, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, rum, and mixed essence.
- Place slice of bread into mixture and let it soak for 30 seconds on each side.
- Place soaked slices on bread on cooling rack for 1-2 minutes.
- Place a skillet over medium heat with 1 tbsp of butter.
- When skillet is hot place 2 slices of bread in it and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden.
- After removing from skillet places french toast slices on a heat proof rack in the oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove french toast from oven, serve and enjoy!
