Let’s Get Brunchy

Ahh, French toast.  It is perhaps my favorite brunch item, and one of those classic dishes that just screams “Sunday morning” no matter what day of the week it actually is.  It’s also super easy to make and yet it tastes like you put a lot of time and effort in.  You can literally roll out of bed, saunter down to the kitchen in your PJs (a.k.a. my new daily uniform), and have a batch whipped up and on the table in about 20 minutes.

Brad, in particular, is a lover of all things banana.  Banana bread, banana pancakes, banana pudding, banana cream pie, you name it – I’ve made them all and they’re always a big hit.  So when I developed this recipe I wanted to use cinnamon, vanilla and banana, a dreamy flavor combination, to please my #1 recipe taste tester.  It is also an ode to the caramelized banana that tops our favorite French toast of all time, a cornflake-crusted deep fried brioche served with strawberry butter at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City.  This one is definitely far less work, and far less calories than that version.

Little Changes = Healthier, Happier Choices

The critical element of this recipe that must be mentioned is a vegan product called JUST EGG (note: I have no affiliation with, investment in, or connection to this company or anyone in it, I just genuinely like this stuff!).  It’s available in the refrigerated section of many grocery stores nationwide, and you can locate the store nearest you here.  The creamy goodness in this little yellow bottle mimics real eggs but is actually made 100% from plants!  It’s better for your health and the environment, too.  You can scramble it, cook with it and even bake with it.  Admittedly, you can’t make it poached or sunny side up, and you can’t separate it into yolk and white, BUT I’ll cover vegan egg white replacements in another post! (As a side note, one of Brad’s favorite foods is actually a scramble I make with Just Egg, and he requests that for breakfast, brunch and dinner regularly.  That recipe will be on the blog soon as well!)

As I always want to be honest and forthcoming, I will say that there is a very mild flavor to Just Egg that is noticeable when you eat it plain.  I happen to like and enjoy the flavor, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say you couldn’t tell it apart from an actual egg.  However, in a recipe like this the flavor is melded with cinnamon, vanilla, banana, syrup, and bread and is barely noticeable (if at all).  But what I love about it is, unlike with normal chicken eggs, there are no membranes or viscous parts (eew), and it whips up with the other ingredients beautifully and evenly.  And of course, it’s much kinder to chickens.  I used to think “eggs don’t hurt chickens!  I don’t eat meat but why shouldn’t I eat eggs?”  Well, as it turns out only female chickens are useful to the egg and meat industry, so all male chicks are killed when they’re only one day old.  For me personally, that’s just not an industry I want to support when I can help it.

It’s also easy to make this dish without refined sugar if you’re trying to reduce your overall sugar intake.  There’s a pretty darn good sugar free maple syrup you can find on Amazon (it tastes more like the syrup you’d find in a diner, not like the syrup you tap from a tree, just FYI).  I also opt to caramelize the bananas in Swerve brown sugar which you can order online or find in some grocery stores, but you can of course use regular brown sugar just as well.

Some Notes on Making Perfect French Toast

1.  Bread is key, obviously.  I tend to use homemade sourdough (classic recipes call for challah or brioche), but you can use whatever bread you like best.  I do recommend getting a loaf you can cut generous slices from though, a nice 3/4-inch to 1-inch slice makes sogginess less likely.  To further avoid sogginess, try not to use a bread that’s too soft or absorbent.  In other words, day old bread is often best since it will be slightly dry.  Generally, the softer/fluffier the bread, the quicker you want to dunk it and the drier/denser the bread the longer you want to dunk it.
2. I like to have my skillet over medium-high heat to start and then I reduce the heat to medium once the vegan butter is bubbling and I put the bread in.  This is just my preference with my stove, but you may find medium-high is too high, or medium is too low.  It should turn a golden brown but not burn; start checking the underside of your bread about two minutes after placing in the skillet and then keep checking the color until you’re happy with it and flip.  Also, if it’s not browning enough you can add more vegan butter to the pan and that will expedite the process.
3. If you’re making more slices than can fit in your skillet at one time, you can keep your finished slices warm so everyone can eat at the same time.  Place a ceramic plate into a COLD oven and turn the oven on to 200 degrees (if you put a cold plate into a warm oven it could crack).  As you cook the slices, put them on the plate to keep them warm in the oven until you’re ready to eat (this works for pancakes too!).

Bon appetit!