Eggy bread, or French toast, is a favourite breakfast in my house: quick, filling and the perfect partner to some kind of fruit. I love its slightly dense, eggy sweetness with the sharpness of a citrussy apple purée. And, as you will see from the suggestions below, it can easily be elevated to posh pud status.
Serves 2
For the eggy bread
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon caster sugar
2 slices of white bread (dry or fresh), about 1cm thick
A large knob of butter
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
To serve
About 200g apple compote (such as the one here)
For the eggy bread, beat the eggs and milk together with about ½ tablespoon sugar, then pour into a shallow dish (one that is wide enough to take both slices of bread is ideal).
Add the slices of bread to the dish and leave them to soak for at least 10 minutes (ideally half an hour if the bread is dry), turning them a few times so they thoroughly absorb the egg. You really want it to penetrate right to the centre of the bread – so there’s almost no eggy liquid left in the dish.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium-low heat and add the butter and oil. When foaming, transfer the soaked bread slices to the pan. Pour any remaining egg in the dish over the bread. Cook for about 2–3 minutes, until the base of the eggy bread is golden brown, then flip over and cook for 2 minutes more.
Transfer the eggy bread to plates for serving. Sprinkle a touch more sugar over each piece, then add a generous dollop of apple compote before you take the plates to the table.
PLUS ONE Yoghurt balances the dish nicely with its creamy-but-light sauciness. Ice cream, on the other hand, especially a good vanilla, will elevate humble eggy bread to an elegant pud.
SWAPS If I haven’t got an apple compote to hand, I peel, quarter, core and slice a couple of tart, crisp eating apples and fry them in a little butter, finishing with a sprinkling of soft brown sugar. Other fruits work well too, especially roasted plums (here) or roasted peaches (here), or a compote of rhubarb. In the summer try using fresh strawberries and/or raspberries. In this case, lightly crush the fruit and mix with a little sugar before serving on the eggy bread.