Brunch combo worth (french) toasting for!

brunchead /brən(t)SHhed/

noun  a term invented by me describing people with a healthy passion and enthusiasm for enjoying a late morning meal eaten instead of breakfast and lunch.

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it, weekend brunch is our thing. I mean, what's not to love? It's 2-in-1, it's free style, it can be anything you want, sweet or savory, or sweet and savory.

And I know we're not alone (fist bump 👊).

Justin and I are on a constant quest for perfect our homemade brunch items, and we think last Sunday we got pretty close with this wonderful combo of French toast, blueberry compote, and (mock) Devonshire cream.

Without further ado...

(Mock) Devonshire cream | ingredients (makes about 1 cup)

• Cream cheese, softened - 2 oz
• Sour cream - 1/4 cup
• Heavy cream - 1/3 cup
• Sugar, powdered - 1 1/2 tbsp

(Mock) Devonshire cream | instructions

1. Use a mixer on low to blend the cream cheese, sour cream, and powdered sugar. Blend until the mixture looks smooth.
2. Add the heavy cream and blend the mixture on high. Blend until stiff peaks form.
3. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to serve.

Blueberry compote | ingredients

• Blueberries, fresh - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1/8 cup
• Water - 1 1/2 tbsp

Blueberry compote | instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients into a small sauce pan. Cook on medium low heat for about 10 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly.

Our home made "evil pac-man" bread

VANILLA FRENCH TOAST | ingredients (for 2)

• Bread, 1/2-1" thick - 4-6 slices
• Eggs, large - 2
• Milk or half and half - 1/2 cup
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Cinnamon, ground - a pinch (or more if preferred)
• Nutmeg, ground - a pinch (or more if preferred)
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp

If you need to make more of the egg mixture, just make sure that the milk-to-egg ratio is always 1/4 cup milk for every egg added.

VANILLA FRENCH TOAST | instructions

1. Prepare the custard by whisking the eggs with milk, vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together until it's fully blended. Pour the custard into a soup plate or baking pan for dipping.  
2. Heat the frying pan or griddle on low. Add the vegetable oil and butter. Turn the heat to medium/medium high once the butter is melted.
3. Dip the bread in the custard for 1 minute on each side.
4. Remove the bread from the custard and allow the excess to drip off. Lay the bread on the frying pan/griddle.
5. Let the bread cook for 1-2 minutes and check if the cooked side is golden brown. If so, flip it and cook the other side until golden brown.

Let the good times roll!

Whenever something is happening in the kitchen, the sharks are circling... White, fluffy, irresistibly cute sharks...

I apologize for the lack of food pictures. I don't know how other foodies do this, but sometimes it's really hard to let picture taking get in the way of putting food in my mouth! This was really testing my self control.

Come to mama!

Everyone's different when it comes to French toasts. Justin likes his marbled 😋.

Just in case you're wondering "where's the syrup?"... There isn't any!

This combo is plenty sweet/flavorful/yummy enough that we didn't feel the need of syrup at all. In fact, we liked more than having it more with syrup because the compote and cream kept each bite moist enough without making the fluffy toast soggy! It was also the perfect balance between the richness and acidity... Just looking at the pictures makes me look forward the weekend again 💖.

Have a great week!!

  Want more of our test kitchen adventures? Click here!