quarantine cooking:
pot de french toast
you’ll thank yourself in the morning
These days, you have to think ahead and give yourself motivation to wake up in the morning. For me, that means thinking about breakfast. I had a loaf of multigrain bread from Butcher’s Daughter sitting in the fridge and thought it would be the perfect morning treat with minimal effort.
The night before, I soaked the bread, stuck it in the fridge, and made the compote. In the morning, all it took was throwing it into ramekins, a short bake in the oven (perfect time to whip some cream and make coffee), some assembly for the toppings, and suddenly you’re thinking that this work from home situation isn’t so bad after all.
PS: There’s no oil or butter, but don’t be fooled, the cream adds plenty of fat…
ingredients
Toast
- 2 thick slices of toast, or 4 regular slices, cubed
- 1 egg
- ~1 cup of some kind of milk or cream or yogurt (if you use cream or yogurt, water it down to more of a milk consistency)
- 1-2 tbsp of sugar (I used light brown, but use whatever you have, and adjust amount based on how sweet you like things)
- a splash of vanilla
- some cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice
Compote
- 1 medium apple, diced
- a spoonful of jam or sugar (i used apricot jam since I happened to have a little thing of it)
- a splash of vanilla extract
- a dash of cinnamon
Toppings
- fresh whipped cream
- fresh berries
- BONUS: a crumbled Tate’s butter crunch cookie, or anything toffee-y
steps
The night before:
- Combine egg, milk, sugar, vanilla and any other spices.
- Cut toast into cubes, place into a container and pour the egg and milk mixture over it. Gently mix to ensure every piece of bread is soaking up some love.
- Cover and stick it in the fridge.
- Make the compote: dice up apple and combine with jam or sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a small pot or pan, cooking on medium heat until apples are soft, adding some water as necessary. Remove from heat, cover and go to bed.
The morning of:
- Add the compote into the bread mixture, and divide into two ramekins (you can butter it or spray it, but tbh I didn’t and didn’t have to), sprinkle with more sugar if you’re feeling it.
- Stick it in the oven (tbh I used a toaster oven ) at 350 deg for 15-20 minutes.
- Use this time to whip up some heavy cream (you can add a dash of vanilla and a little bit of sugar), and brew some coffee.
- To get some color + crunch, broil for a few minutes.
- Top with whipped cream, berries and pour yourself a cup of coffee as you settling into your first Zoom of the day.
