Sweet Apple Crumb French Toast
This was quite a challenge to put together on account of how we just wanted to get to the eatin’ part of this recipe. So, I apologize if any of these photos are blurry or look rushed. We were rushed!
I suspect this French Toast is about as close to eating apple pie for breakfast as you can get. In fact, I might just pick this over apple pie if I had to choose betwixt the two. This recipe has evolved over time and I’m pretty sure we finally hit perfection. It boggles the mind. And don’t be surprised if you find yourself staring at an empty plate just a few short seconds after you sat down to eat it. My wife and I sat there staring at our plates with bewildered looks on our faces. We said, “Wow,” at the exact same time and now she owes me a Coke. I advise that you keep all this in mind and try to remind yourself to slow down and savor every bite, ‘cause it’ll be gone before you know it. I’m still reminiscing about it now.
Okay, let’s get started…
This recipe will serve about 2-3 people and takes around 25-35 minutes to prep and cook. It’s pretty easy to double, triple, etc., if you have a larger group of people. You definitely don’t want to deprive anyone of this stuff. Rage may ensue.
Ingredients:
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup flour
¼ cup butter
pinch of salt
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
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2 Granny Smith apples
1 tsp lemon juice
dash of salt
2 tbsp butter (and more for the pan)
2 cups pure maple syrup
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4 eggs
½ cup whole milk
¼ tsp cinnamon
4 slices homemade bread (or 6 slices of store bought bread)
1. Peel, core, and dice up two Granny Smith apples. Set aside in a solution of water and 1 tsp of lemon juice.
Next we’re going to make our crumb topping and cinnamon sugar mixture. (Now, if you're making this up for a big group, you could make the crumb topping and cinnamon sugar the night before to save time.)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, add ½ cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup flower, ¼ cup butter, and a pinch of salt. Mix together with a fork or your hands until the ingredients clump together into crumbs. (I use a little hand grater to grate up the cold butter. It mixes together a little easier that way)
3. Spread out the crumb mixture on to a baking sheet line with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye this so that it doesn't burn or get too dark. Once removed from the oven, let cool and set aside. The crumb topping should harden up a bit and will add a nice crunch to this dish.
4. In another small bowl, mix together ½ cup sugar and 1 tbsp of cinnamon. Set this aside to coat the edges of your finished French toast. You will most likely have a good amount of this cinnamon sugar mixture left over. Instead of throwing it out, just pour into an old spice shaker. Tastes great on buttered toast!
Now for the apple syrup…
5. Pour the cut up apples, which you had set aside earlier, into a colander and drain off the water well. Place half of them into a saucepan and set the other half aside. (You will use the rest of the cut up apples for topping later. The fresh apples add a really great tartness and crunch that contrasts well with the sweetness of this dish.)
6. Add a dash of salt and 2 tbsp of butter into the saucepan with your apples. Add 2 cups of maple syrup and cook on low heat until apples are tender. This should take approx. 20min.
While this is cooking, you can make your French toast!
7. Take a frying pan and start to heat it up on medium to medium-low heat. Do not let it get too hot!!
8. In a large mixing bowl, add 4 eggs and 1/2 cup of whole milk together with 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Whisk together well.
9. Cut up 4-5 "healthy" slices of your homemade bread. You can find my bread recipe here. The homemade stuff really makes this French toast extra good, so I definitely recommend it. If you can only get store bought bread, you should be able to make up 6 slices with your egg wash.
10. Take 1 tablespoon of butter and put it in the pan. If it sizzles and melts really fast, your pan may be too hot. If so, quickly move your pan to a cool burner so that you don’t burn your butter. Let the butter melt then return to the heat.
11. Drag your bread slices in the egg wash and coat both sides. Be careful not to absorb too much into the bread. You don’t want it to be super soggy. Place your coated bread into the hot pan. I can usually cook 2 slices at one time.
12. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until it’s nicely browned. You can check and flip your toast a few times, if necessary, to make sure you don’t burn it.
13. Once cooked, coat the edges of your slices with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Be careful here because it’s hot! I usually use two spoons back to back as makeshift tongs for this task. Once nicely coated, place it on a plate and add a little salted butter while it’s hot.
14. Place a little more butter in the pan before cooking your next round of toast if there isn’t much left in the pan. Repeat this process until your bread and egg wash is gone.
15. Top each serving of French toast with some fresh, cut up apples that you had set aside earlier. Drizzle your apple syrup on top. Then add some of your crumb topping on top of that. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar over everything and the edges of the plate for an extra festive touch.
Now enjoy!! I’m pretty sure you’re going to.
