Brioche French Toast with Orange-Vanilla Syrup
My sweet family is taking me to brunch this Sunday for Mother’s Day. But if they weren’t, I would be making these recipes. The orange vanilla syrup is inspired by a fresh orange syrup my mom used to make us for pancakes. And she loves an English muffin, which I find to be an elegant vehicle for smoked salmon and all the trimmings, compared to a more cumbersome bagel. Happy Mother’s Day to all my mama friends out there. Eat something special that reminds you of your mama this weekend.
Brioche French Toast with Orange-Vanilla Syrup
Ingredients
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups half and half
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 loaf brioche bread, sliced, about 14-16 slices
- butter, for greasing griddle
Orange-Vanilla Syrup
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- pinch salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange extract
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, half and half, vanilla, sugar, and salt. Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Working in batches, dip the brioche bread into the custard mixture and turn, giving the bread ample time to soak up the custard thoroughly. Grease the griddle with butter and cook the soaked bread until nicely browned on both sides and cooked all the way through. You don’t want it to be soggy, so give it plenty of time, flipping it frequently and adjusting your heat so that you don’t burn the outsides before the insides are cooked.
- If you have leftover custard, don’t waste it—dip and griddle whatever bread you’ve got around!! Sandwich bread heels, last week’s croissants, a sliced up baguette, or stale donuts work beautifully.
- In a small saucepan, heat the brown sugar, water, and salt to dissolve. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla and orange extracts and butter. Stir to melt the butter and drizzle this over the cooked French toast to serve.
Smoked Salmon English Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 English muffins, split and toasted
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 8 oz smoked salmon
- capers and fresh dill, optional, for serving
Pickled Red Onions
- 1 small or 1/2 large red onion, sliced
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup vinegar, white, apple cider, or red wine
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- To pickle the red onion, combine all the ingredients in a mason jar and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Allow to sit and pickle for about an hour before eating. Then keep the leftovers in the refrigerator to enjoy on salads, sandwiches, tacos, nachos, etc.
- This is pretty much an assembly-only recipe! To assemble, spread the toasted English muffins with cream cheese. Top with a layer of cucumber and tomato, then follow with the smoked salmon. Top with pickled red onion and if desired, capers and fresh dill. Freshly ground black pepper is a lovely finish.
