French Toast

Yummy!!! Another quite healthy breakfast that I made for myself this morning... I just love the fact that you can combine french toast with almost any fruit! I had a banana and some giant blueberries which I skewered in between the bread. I think these skewers look pretty adorable... Don't you?




Ingredients


(makes 6 skewers)

• 18-20 cubes of brown bread (3-4cm thick)
• 1 large egg
• 200ml buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon bourbon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons butter
• Fruits of your choice (strawberries, raspberries, banana, blueberries...)
• 6 skewers

Preparation


Cut your bread into cubes. Use any bread... Preferably soft white bread. In a bowl, mix the egg, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar and salt together to make the custard. Use your fingers to soak your bread cubes in the custard, turning them over to coat each side well. Make sure your bread is really drenched in the yummy custard!

In a frying pan, heat the butter. Place the soaked bread cubes onto the pan and fry each side for about 3 minutes. Each side should be equally browned.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Place aside.

Cut your fruit, if needed, into 1-2 cm sized bites.

Once the bread is done and brown on each side, take the pan off the heat. Arrange the bread and fruit onto the skewers. You're free to arrange them however you want to! When the skewers are made and ready, sprinkle some cinnamon sugar over the breads and eat them while they are still warm! Yum...

Thank god for Banana Bread. Seriously... What better way to use up old, ripe, black bananas than mashing them into bread batter, right? The best part though is that you can combine almost anything with banana! This morning I decided to throw in some almonds, mix in some melted chocolate, sprinkle in some bourbon and cinnamon... Do whatever you want and you'll always land yourself an amazing breakfast treat called Banana Bread!




Ingredients


(makes one loafpan)

adapted and changed from joy the baker who thanks Smitten Kitchen who also thanks SimplyRecipes

• 3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon bourbon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cup of flour
• 4 tablespoons ground almonds
• 4 tablespoons almond splits
• 1/2 cup melted chocolate (about 100g), I used dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 180°C. In a small saucepan bring water to a boil. Once the water boils take the saucepan away from the heat. Place a small bowl over the saucepan, not touching the water and chop in the chocolate. Allow to melt.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the cinnamon. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, mix. Add the almonds, and stir until just incorporated. Last but not least, add the melted chocolate, cooled down to room temp. and the buttermilk. Mix for one last time. Pour mixture into a buttered loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and you're done!

Slice some pieces, wrap them in clingwrap and freeze them for those mornings when you just don't have time to make something from scratch! I always freeze some individual portions in my freezer... Perfect for when I'm in a rush!