Once you mention holiday season, you’re bound to hear eggnog. Eggnog consists of eggs, milk, rum or bourbon, annatto and spices. There are so many homemade recipes for it. In this recipe, however, I’ll be using store-bought eggnog. It saves time and it is still delicious. Eggnog tastes like a creamy custard drink, and it really takes your French toast to the next level. This comes with a homemade blueberry compote with hints of rosemary and it is just superb! Your breakfast game will never be the same after this.
Good types of bread to use for this eggnog French toast include brioche (pictured below) or challah bread. Since French toast requires you to dip bread slices into a batter, softer breads absorb the batter much more easily. They also tend to be sweeter and less dry, which is something you need for bomb French toast. I used a whole bread loaf but this recipe can actually accommodate two bread loaves.
The cherry on top of this French toast is the rosemary blueberry compote. Compote is just a fancy way of saying fruit sauce. It is made from primarily fruits and sugar (or jam) which are cooked on the stove until it’s saucy. The difference between compote and syrup is that syrups are strained and liquid, whereas the stewed bits of fruit are left in the compote. This rosemary blueberry compote is as good as any chocolate sauce and really sweetens everything up. That is why a lot of sugar isn’t used in the French toast batter. Also rosemary sprigs are used so it can be easily taken out later. If you strain this, you’ll get an awesome blueberry syrup.
Ingredients
Eggnog French toast
1 Brioche bread loaf, sliced about 1 inch wide
6 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant coffee
2 cups eggnog
Cooking oil
Fresh fruit to serve
Rosemary blueberry compote
6 oz fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 rosemary sprigs
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Rosemary blueberry compote
- Cook the blueberries with the granulated sugar, lemon juice and rosemary sprigs in a saucepan on medium heat.
- Cook it until the blueberries lose shape (usually takes about 15 minutes).
- Take out the entire rosemary sprigs and discard them.
- Turn off the heat and let the remaining syrup cool as you make the French toast.
Egg nog French toast
- Whisk the eggs, eggnog, vanilla extract, instant coffee and sugar together in a very large mixing bowl. This is your French toast batter.
- Dip a few of the bread slices into the batter at a time.
- Drizzle a few tablespoons of cooking oil on a hot frying pan.
- Fry the battered bread slices from step 2 n the frying pan for about 2 minutes on each side. I fried 3 slices at a time.
- Serve warm with the rosemary blueberry syrup.