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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Sunday brunch: French toast with caramelised banana and crispy bacon



The perfect indulgent breakfast.

Dunk stale bread (I used up my bread crusts) in a beaten mixture of eggs with a splash of milk. Remove the bread and set aside whilst you heat your frypan.

Add a small amount of oil to the frypan and swirl. Briefly dunk the bread in the egg mixture again and then fry both sides until golden.

At the same time, panfry one banana sliced lengthwise and a few strips of bacon until caramelised and crisp respectively.

Dust the French toast with sugar and a generous swirl of cinnamon. Serve with the caramelised banana and bacon .

Look for the maple syrup in the cupboard and curse aloud when you realise you have none.

Attempt to cheer yourself up by reasoning that at least now you've saved on maple syrup calories. Eat the fat on the bacon in determined consolation.

Revel in a slow breakfast with freshly brewed coffee and the morning paper.

Add maple syrup to next week's shopping list.

20 comments:

  1. looks yum. Out of curiousity, have you tried the HK Cafes style of french toast with peanut butter sandwiched between two slices of french toast? Its called "sai to see" when made well, it sure beats normal french toast!

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  2. Can I come to b'fast next Sunday? I'll bring the maple syrup - genuine stuff only of course - he he ; )

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  3. I think there's an american version of that as well. But you spread the peanut butter on one side of the toast and then dip it.

    Gives it a nice charred-ish flavour.

    Great blog btw helen, I'm heading to sydney in the next few weeks and staying at holiday inn in darling harbour. Any must eats in the area?

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  4. Well I know what I'm having for breakfast this weekend!

    But this needs asking...
    Plunger or espresso?
    And as it's Sunday brunch, the Sun Herald or the Telegraph?

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  5. Sounds perfect. I make french toast a lot, but will have to try the banana with it next time.

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  6. Great recipe and very funny post - I like your bacon fat logic! :)

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  7. NonnyMouse - Darling Harbour area is close to China Town (endless possibilities, but try yum cha on a Sunday at noon at Golden Harbour, Dixon Street), the fish market - well worth a look; buy your own fish and have them cook it for you or watch the little oyster shucker man endlessly shucking oysters), drink freshly brewed beer at the James Squires place on King st wharf (i think - could be cockle bay?)...loads of stuff.
    I'll be trying the peanut butter french toast too. Sounds gross, but then so did peanut butter & jam till I tried it!

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  8. Hey Anonymous ( I think I know who you are as I am a good friend of Clare @ eatstuff ;) ) Anyway hope you enjoy your trip to Sydney. My personal recommendations are Superbowl on Sussex street, Chinatown which is just a stones throw from darling harbour for a tasty HK style meal at reasonable prices and they are open from 6 till 2 am I think. The super large bowls of congee and tasty hand made noodles in XO sauce are great. In the building opposite has seoul Ria on the third level which I believe helen has reviewed in the past great korean food. The second level has a japanese tavern called Fujiyama with great chuhai and snack type foods. Not to be missed, also blogged by helen is Zilver in the vicinity for wonderful dim sum (yum cha). Darling harbour itself has a plethora of restaurants, more in the $25 upwards mains market but probably read helens darling harbour section to weed out the good from the to be missed.

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  9. What a great brunch! Everything looks so good. I especially like the carmelized bannanas YUM

    Sharona May x

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  10. I've got a fantastic suggestion. Try brioche next time you do your french toast. They sell here in Sydney a big loaf of brioche (you can get it in Harris in Broadway), and it's super yum with maple syrup....Yum!

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  11. this has long been one of my favourite breakfasts and I was just reminding hubby about it the other day!

    in the states, I had a coffee scroll french toast once - don't do it...

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  12. That's a great brunch idea for a brunch i'm hosting this weekend. Maybe I'll spike the caramelised banana with some rum :)

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  13. Hi Rachel - I haven't tried HK-style french toast, but mmm... it sounds good. It does sound a little like an Elvis special though. Will have to try it next weekend :)

    Hi Divemummy - You're always welcome to come over. And the cupboard has maple syrup now :)

    Hi Anon - I think I'm going to have to try a peanut butter version soon, and sounds like you've already gotten a lot of great tips from fellow GYF readers (thanks guys!). You should prob check out the Lindt Cafe too - plenty of chocolate decadence.

    Hi Bolo - It was plunger (no coffee machine alas, but the coffee beans were freshly ground) and the Sun Herald :)

    Hi Brittany - The banana is the perfect partner to the bacon of course :)

    Hi Mutemonkey - Everything makes sense once you've had bacon!

    Hi Jax - Thanks for your DH tips. You've saved me some effort :) And I agree, PB&J does sound weird till you've tried it. I also used to knock camembert and strawb jam but that's also good in a very bad way!

    Hi Rachel - Thanks so much for your dining tips. You're a star -- and I love that you remember exactly which restaurants I've blogged too! :)

    Hi Sharona - I love caramelised anything, but bananas are always a hit :)

    Hi Jenny - I've always struggled to cook with brioche - it's too good to waste in bread and butter pudding or French toast I find! I love it simply with a cup of tea. There's a great bakery in Paddington that does a wonderful brioche encrusted with sugar - so eggy and good.

    Hi Cin - The mind boggles at the thought of a coffee scroll French toast! Hope you and your hubby managed to share one of your favourite breakfasts!

    Hi *kel - Ooh that does sound good!

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  14. Sounds delicious! Just one quick note though - maple syrup should be kept in the fridge once it's opened - assuming it's the real thing.

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  15. I know this is going off the subject slightly but speaking of brioche, my hubbie found the most fantastic almond custard brioche at a (nondescript looking) bakery on lower King Street, Newtown, (the Sydney Park end) at the weekend. Think the place is called Cake Town or similar. Beat almond croissant any day!

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  16. Hi Anon - I do usually keep the maple syrup in the fridge, but there was none in the fridge and none in the cupboard. Disaster! The situation has now been rectified :)

    Hi Jax - Ooh yes I'm sure I've wondered in there one day. Their breads and pastries did look amazing. I also loved the kitchen equipment store nearby - so many shiny objects of desire!

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  17. Hi Edinha - Thanks :) It tasted very good too!

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  18. hi, can u please post the batter recipe? I know i can find it on the net bust just wanna know urs :)
    thanks

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  19. Hi flying_piig - I don't actually use a recipe. I literally whisk 2-3 eggs and add a splash of milk. French toast is very forgiving - as long as there's lots of cinnamon, sugar and maple syrup at the end!

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