Description
This weekend French Toast recipe starts with a delicious homemade strawberry-apricot white chocolate Italian Easter Colomba that soaks in a silky vanilla bean custard and gets cooked in butter until golden brown. We always make enough Colomba that we have leftovers for brunch. We usually even freeze a few slices to use later on (this is perfect for an easy and tasty Mother’s Day French toast as well). This year we topped it off with a homemade strawberry- blood orange sauce, pure maple syrup, (natural) pink butter, toasted pistachios, and a chocolate pheasant egg. Whether you make your own Italian Colomba bread or buy it, you’re sure to love this special French Toast recipe.
Ingredients
Scale
vanilla bean custard mixture
- 1/2 cup whole milk (126g)
- 2 large eggs (100g)
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla bean powder (or a few pinches)
- 1/2 teaspoon blood orange sugar (or sugar + orange zest) (8g)
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon butter (for topping the French toast), plus more for cooking) (15g)
- 2 to 3 thick slices of dry Italian Colomba Bread, (or other egg-rich bread)
strawberry jam sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the custard. Add all of the custard ingredients to a bowl or shallow dish and whisk to combine. Add the sliced Colomba in a single layer and let rest for about half 10 minutes total to absorb the custard, gently turning the slices over about halfway through soaking time.
- Prepare the strawberry-blood orange sauce. While the Colomba slices are soaking, add the strawberries, blood orange segments, and sugar to a small pot and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring frequently to avoid scorching, and cook for approximately 15 minutes, or until the fruit is mostly broken down and the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and put the mixture into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside while you make the pink butter.
- Make the all-natural pink butter. Add the desired amount of powdered (natural) food coloring to the butter and combine the mixture using the back of a butter knife unti combined. This is totally optional. Feel free to omit this step.
- Cook the french toast. Add a large pat of butter to a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or other non-stick pan and melt over medium heat. Gently add the slices of Colomba to the pan, turn the heat to low, and cook for about 5 minutes without moving the french toast. When the french toast begins to turn golden brown, gently flip them over. Continue cooking on the second side until lightly browned about 4-5 minutes more. Turn the slices back over and cook a little longer until they’re cooked all the way through and springy to the touch.
- Serve the french toast. Once the french toast is cooked through, remove them from the pan to a serving platter, add a pat of pink butter, spoon the strawberry-blood orange sauce over the top, drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with pistachios and top it off with a chocolate Easter egg if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- When the French toast is soaking be very gentle when you turn them over. Use tongs or a spatula to assist you when turning over the slices especially as they begin to absorb the custard and become soft. This provides support for the soft custard-soaked bread and helps keep them from falling apart.
- Help ensure the middle cooks perfectly. Cooking French toast on low and occasionally lifting them with a spatula throughout the cooking process (to check for even browning) will help ensure the middle cooks through and the outsides become nicely browned without burning.
- If you don’t have the Tarocco orange sugar, no problem! Substitute with regular sugar and add a little fresh orange zest.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Breakfast + Brunch
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
