Cinnamon French Toast with Toppings

Summer brunch is quite possibly the best way to spend time with friends, but as the weather gets colder we tend to cancel our plans to stay home and eat comfort food. Well, in the words of my favourite TV ad, why can't be have both? This is a super easy, super delicious mini feast you can quickly throw together for your friends and family, and it's guaranteed to warm you up for the day.

While I always promote using what you already have in the pantry, thin sliced wholemeal bread from the grocery store just doesn't cut it with this recipe. For proper, cafe style french toast you need thick, fresh bread (ideally sliced yourself), and fresh ingredients. Below I've included two different toppings to add to your toast - a crazy easy blueberry compote, and an apple pie inspired topping that turns this breakfast from a 10 to a 20.

Shout out to my best friend, Beth for coming over early in the morning to taste test!

French Toast

Ingredients: Serves 2

• 4 Thick Slices White Bread

• 2 Eggs

• 1 Cup Milk

• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

• 1 Tbs Butter

• 1/4 Cup Caster Sugar

• 4 Tbs Ground Cinnamon

Let's Make This French Toast:

1. In a shallow bowl, combine eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until eggs are completely broken and all ingredients are combined. Set this bowl on one side of the stove.

2. In another bowl, add sugar and cinnamon and mix. Set this bowl on the other side of your stove.

3. Melt butter in a wide fry pan on a low heat. Soak each slice of bread in the egg mixture on both sides and add to the pan, cooking two slices at a time. After around 4 minutes, flip the bread and cook for a further minute. Transfer the cooked bread into the bowl with the cinnamon sugar and coat both sides.

4. Serve immediately.

Blueberry Compote

Ingredients:

• 1 Punnet Blueberries, Washed

• 1 Tbs Butter

• 1 Tbs Caster Sugar

• Juice of half a lemon

• Maple Syrup, to Serve

Let's Make This Compote:

1. In a small saucepan, add all ingredients and simmer on a low heat. Stir continuously and cook for around 5-10 minutes, or until blueberries have slightly dissolved.

2. Pour into a small pouring jug or gravy boat and serve on top of your french toast with maple syrup.

Apple Pie Topping

Ingredients:

• 2 Apples, Peeled and Cored

• 2 Tbs Brown Sugar

• 1 Tbs Butter

• Icing Sugar, to Serve

Let's Make This Apple Topping:

1. Chop apples into 1/2 inch pieces and add to a saucepan or small fry pan.

2. Add butter and sugar and stir frequently. Cook for around 10 minutes or until apples are soft on the outside, but still have a slight bite to them inside. The sugar and butter will make a thick caramel sauce. Add more butter if you need to make more sauce.

3. Pour into a small pouring jug or ramekin and serve on top of your french toast with a sift of icing sugar.