French Brioche with Blueberries and Maple Syrup

 

Breakfast delight: French toast with blueberries and maple syrup. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

If French toast – such a delight for Sunday breakfast – is to be crisp outside and marshmallow-soft within, we need a soft, open-textured bread, such as brioche. I use brioche buns if I can get them, if not 2cm thick slices from a brioche loaf. Watch the buns carefully as they cook, lifting them as they fry with a palette knife to check their progress. The lighter, fluffier and thicker the bread the better the toast. You could serve it with cream – double and lightly whipped so it stands in soft mounds on the hot toast. Serves 2

 

 

eggs 2
milk 180ml
orange small, zest of 1
ground cinnamon a pinch
brioche style buns 2
butter 50g
icing sugar

For the compote:
blueberries 250g
maple syrup 100ml

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Method

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Put the blueberries and maple syrup into a stainless-steel or enamelled saucepan. Warm the fruit and syrup over a low heat for about 7 or 8 minutes until the berries are just starting to burst. Leave to simmer for a few minutes until the syrup starts to thicken.

Beat together the eggs and milk. Finely grate the zest from the orange and stir into the eggs and milk with a pinch of cinnamon. Tear each brioche bun in half horizontally. Push the brioche down into the egg and milk mixture and press gently until it is thoroughly soaked. Leave for 10 minutes.

 

 

Warm the butter in a shallow, nonstick pan. When small bubbles appear on the surface, lower the pieces of bread into the pan, torn side down, and leave for 3 or 4 minutes until the underside is golden. Carefully turn the bread with a palette knife and let the other side colour, adjusting the heat to ensure that the butter doesn’t burn.

Remove the bread from the pan and drain briefly on kitchen paper, then divide between two plates. Dust over a little icing sugar, then spoon over some of the blueberries and their syrup.

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