Prep time 20 min cook time 15 min
A delicious Middle Eastern version of French toast using baguette bread topped with orange blossom flavored syrup.
One of the early memories I have of my weekend visits to my grandmother in downtown Cairo was a dessert she made called Pain Doré. In French, it translates into golden bread. It is only many years later that I realized that it was a version of French Toast.
Like all classic dishes, there tends to be a myriad of ways to make and serve French Toast. You may prefer your bread thick or thin. Plain white bread or wheat bread. Or you may like your custard mixture aromatic (think cinnamon or vanilla extract) or not. You might like your French toadt plain or with fruit or with extra melted butter on the side. Then there are the various toppings to chose from – powdered sugar, maple syrup, jelly, jam, honey, peanut butter, applesauce, whipped cream or yogurt.
Usually served at breakfast in most countries, we had it as a dessert. It is a simple recipe of day old baguette bread soaked in a milk and egg mixture then gently fried in oil and butter. Like many Middle Eastern deserts, she topped it with home made sugar syrup flavored with orange blossom water.
A simple, comforting and delicious way to end a meal.
Baguette French Toast With Orange Blossom Syrup
by
Derek Farwagi
Equipment
- An 8" non stick frying pan
- A medium sized mixing bowl
- A quart sauce pan
Ingredients
The sugar syrup
- ½ cup sugar (white or brown)
- ½ cup water
- ½ tsp rose water or orange blossom water
The French Toast
- ½ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 4 1" slices of day old baguette bread
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
The French Toast
- Whisk milk, salt and eggs until smooth. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Soak bread slices in mixture until saturated. Cook bread on each side for a couple of minutes, until golden brown.
- Soak bread slices in mixture until saturated.
- Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium heat and add tablespoon of unsalted butter
- Cook bread on each side for a couple of minutes, until golden brown. Set aside.
The Sugar Syrup
- Add 1/2 cup of sugar to half a cup of water and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for about 4 minutes on a medium heat until the liquid becomes "sticky" (To test, drop a little syrup on a cold surface or plate and dip a spoon. It should be sticky when you lift it). The syrup thickens when it cools and if by chance it is too thick or solidifies, stir in half teaspoonfuls of hot water untill you get a thick but runny consistency.
- Add 1/2 a tsp of Orange Blossom or Rose Water and allow to cool in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
- Serve toast at room temperature with a generous drizzle of syrup.
GET INSPIRED. SUBSCRIBE NOW.