Cinnamon French Toast with Apple

Cinnamon French toast is a classic breakfast or brunch dish, that on this occasion I’ve opted to top with some thick Greek yogurt and soft slices of cinnamon apples. The dish is finished off with a drizzle of maple syrup with works well with the spicy apples and slightly sour Greek yogurt.

I enjoy eating this easy cinnamon French toast for breakfast or brunch. However, swap the Greek yogurt for a scoop of your favourite ice cream and it also works really well as a quick and easy dessert.

This is an easy French toast recipe that can be easily adapted to suit your own tastes. Don’t like cinnamon you can leave it out; swap the apple for sliced banana or berries; add a handful of chopped nuts. In other words make the dish your own.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• A simple recipe that can be prepared, cooked and on the table in around 15 minutes
• Uses a few basic, inexpensive ingredients that most of you will have in your stores at home.
• Feed a crowd as this recipe is easily doubled up.
• Apple and cinnamon are flavours that work perfectly together in this easy French toast recipe.

Recipe ingredients

• Apple – use a good quality eating apple, rather than a cooking apple which you’ve to add extra sugar to sweeten. I’ve used Granny Smith apples as they are slightly sour and have a good firm texture. Pink Lady, Braeburn or Gala apples would be good alternatives.
• Cinnamon – I add ground cinnamon both to the egg custard and to the apples.
• Eggs – I use 2 large free range eggs to make the custard. This is enough for 4 medium slices of brioche.
• Milk – I use whole milk with the egg, but semi-skimmed (half and half) would work here too.
• Vanilla – I flavour the eggs with vanilla extract. I prefer extract to essence as it has a stronger flavour. Vanilla paste is a good alternative too.
• Salt – I season the custard with a little sea salt which cuts through the sweet flavours in the dish.
• Bread – I’ve used brioche bread, but feel free to use your bread of choice. Sourdough or sliced white bread would be good alternatives.
• Oil – I cook the toast in a little olive oil, you could also use butter.
• Toppings – for additional toppings I also like to add some thick Greek yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup or runny honey.

How to make cinnamon French toast

• Peel and core the apples and slice into small wedges.
• Place the sliced apple into a small saucepan with 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a splash of cold water, stir to combine.
• Place the apples over a medium heat and cook gently until the apples have softened a little, but keep their shape. This will take 5-8 minutes depending on the size of the apple slices.
• Add a splash more water to the apples if you think they are starting to dry out.

• While the apples are cooking, beat the eggs in a flat bottomed bowl. Now add the milk, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt and whisk again to combine.
• When the apples have cooked, remove from the heat and set aside.
• Now heat the non-stick frying pan over medium/high heat and add a teaspoon of olive oil.
• Place the slices of brioche bread into the egg mixture, quickly turn over and coat the second side. Now place the bread into the hot frying pan. Repeat this process with the remaining olive oil and slices of bread.
• Cook the bread for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from the frying pan and place onto a plate (allow 2 slices per serving).
• Top the French toast with the stewed apples and optional Greek yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup or honey. Serve immediately.

Recipe variations

• Brioche is a sweet enriched bread, you an substitute with any other type of bread that you enjoy eating, just follow the same process.
• If you don’t like cinnamon, leave it out altogether and you will still have lovely tasting apple topped French toast.
• I’ve topped the French toast with Greek yogurt as it adds acidity to the dish, you could also use creme fraiche.
• Scatter over a handful of chopped nuts like almonds, pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts.
• Fancy having this for dessert, swap the Greek yogurt for a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
• Top with any variety of fruits that you fancy, sliced bananas, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or blackberries are great options.
• Swap the apple and yogurt topping for some jam, peanut butter or combination of both.
• Drizzle over some chocolate or caramel sauce.

Serving suggestions

Once cooked, you can serve the French toast on it’s own and it will be delicious. I’ve opted to top the cinnamon eggy bread with a spoon of thick Greek yogurt, some cinnamon apples and finish with a drizzle of maple syrup.

You could also melt some butter over the toast and swap the maple syrup for honey if you prefer. I’ve also been known to serve it with crispy rashers of bacon, for the perfect balance of sweet and savoury.

Useful hints and tips

1. Use a wide flat dish to whisk the eggs as this will make it easier to coat the bread in the egg mixture, without the risk of bending or breaking the bread.
2. Brioche is an enriched bread so take care not to completely soak the brioche otherwise it will absorb too much egg, become too heavy and may break apart. Dip each side into the custard, ensuring an even coverage, then move straight to the hot pan.
3. Ensure the pan is hot before adding the eggy bread, it needs to start cooking as soon as it hits the pan or it will leak out everywhere.
4. Allergy advice: soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions

Looking for some sweeter ideas for brunch, then try out these easy recipes:

• Easy Scotch Pancakes
• Pumpkin Pancakes with Candied Pecans
• American Buttermilk Pancakes
• Poffertjes – Dutch Pancakes
• Cinnamon Granola with Almond & Apricot
• Cinnamon Rolls

Looking for other recipe ideas for an easy weekend brunch? Look no further than my Best Brunch Recipes post, where along with a host of savoury and sweet recipes, you will find some useful hints and tips.