Sugar Crusted French Toast With Honeyed Apples Recipes

FRENCH TOAST WITH APPLE TOPPING

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute the apple, brown sugar and cinnamon in 1 tablespoon butter until apple is tender. , In a shallow bowl, whisk the egg, milk and vanilla. Dip both sides of bread in egg mixture., In a large skillet, melt remaining butter over medium heat. Cook bread on both sides until golden brown. Serve with apple mixture and maple syrup if desired.

BAKED FRENCH TOAST WITH OAT CRUMBLE TOPPING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spread bread cubes out and toast until lightly golden, 7 to 15 minutes. Let cool.
• Generously butter a 2-quart casserole dish or 9- by 13-inch baking dish and fill with bread cubes.
• In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, honey, vanilla, nutmeg, cardamom and salt until smooth. Pour over bread, tossing well. Press down on bread so it forms an even layer that is mostly submerged in custard. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight (or up to 48 hours ahead).
• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare the topping: In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. You can also pulse the topping ingredients together in a food processor if you'd rather. (The topping can be prepared up to 48 hours in advance; store covered in the refrigerator until needed.)
• Spread diced pears, if using, evenly over the top of the bread, then cover with crumble mixture. Bake until golden and firm, 40 to 50 minutes. If you'd like a crunchier crust, broil for the final 1 to 2 minutes. Or leave the topping softer; it's good both ways.
• Meanwhile, prepare the syrup, if desired: In a small saucepan, combine honey and 1 to 2 tablespoons water, depending upon how thick you want the syrup to be. Using a paring knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add seeds to the pot. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and let the vanilla infuse for at least 10 minutes. (Syrup can be made up to 1 week ahead.) Serve the French toast warm with the honey-vanilla syrup, or maple syrup.

SUGAR-CRUSTED FRENCH TOAST WITH HONEYED APPLES

Steps:

• For poached apples:
• Combine first 7 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 5 minutes. Add apples; cover and simmer until tender, about 12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer apples to bowl. Boil syrup in saucepan until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Add syrup to bowl with apples. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)
• For french toast:
• Whisk eggs, yolks, milk, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, and salt in 15x10x2-inch baking dish. Place bread in single layer in egg mixture; spoon egg mixture over bread and let stand until soaked through, about 3 minutes.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in each of 2 large nonstick skillets over medium heat. Sprinkle each skillet with 2 tablespoons sugar. Add 3 bread slices to each skillet; cook until deep golden on bottom, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle top of bread slices with sugar, using 2 tablespoons for each skillet; turn slices over and cook until deep golden on bottom, about 3 minutes. Transfer French toast to plates. Place 1 apple half alongside each serving. Drizzle French toast with some of syrup from apples and serve.
• *Brown star-shaped seedpods sold at Asian markets and specialty foods stores and in the spice section of some supermarkets.