Easy strawberry French toast recipe with ricotta
Ah the humble French toast! I’m a big fan of this delicious way to use up stale bread and why not make a summer version of the classic and make strawberry french toast with ricotta.
Strawberry french toast
Bread is one of those things that I actually don’t eat all that often. I live alone so when I buy a whole loaf I am always left with a big piece of bread that is no longer fresh. Of course there are other ways to solve that issue (like freezing all slices of the bread) but making french bread is definitely among my favorite things to do.
Now this strawberry french toast is slightly different from the original. I actually like making this with white bread but still prefer using something like sour dough to make it but any slice of bread will do. So just use whatever slices of bread you have in your cupboard.
What do you need to make this French toast?
You need the usual ingredients but also a few less common things to make this summer version of my French toast.
- egg
- whole milk
- bread slices
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon
- butter
- ricotta
- orange
- honey
- strawberries
I love using ricotta for this recipe as you spread it onto the bread but you can also make something like strawberry cream cheese instead. In order to make that you need some fresh strawberries and cream cheese. You puree the strawberries and add it to the cream cheese. Mix it together until it becomes smooth and then spread the cream cheese mixture onto the bread once toasted.
But if you’re a fan of fresh flavors using the ricotta and orange is a better option I think. You can make it even fresher by adding a bit of lemon juice.
Baking
Now first you need to make your egg mixture which you do in a small bowl. You whisk the egg with the whole milk, vanilla and the cinnamon together and pour it into a shallow dish. You need something that is large enough to fit the pieces of bread. So depending on the size of those you can measure you dish.
If you use regular (unsweetened) bread you can add a little bit of maple syrup or honey to the egg mixture if you want.
Dip your pieces of bread into the egg mixture and heat a large skillet on medium heat. Melt butter in the pan and add the slices of bread one or two at the time. Make sure they’re placed in a single layer and don’t overlap. Depending on the size of your pan and the size of your bread. Once the bread is golden brown on one side (takes about 2-3 minutes each side) turn it over and bake the other side until both are golden brown and cooked.
Ricotta mixture
Now you make the ricotta mixture by adding orange zest to the ricotta as well as a bit of orange juice. Mix a bit of icing sugar in and using a fork work it in.
Spread a generous layer of the ricotta on the toasted slices of bread. Now it is time to add the fresh berries to it. I like using strawberries here but you can use any kind of fresh fruit you like.
it’s the perfect weekend breakfast or special occasion mother’s day breakfast as it is quick and feels very indulgent due to the ricotta.
Even easier?
If you don’t want to be bothered with baking each slice of bread separately you also make this strawberry french toast in a baking dish and finish in the oven. For that to work you butter a baking dish and place the bread (I usually slice them diagonally in two) inside the baking dish. You then pour the egg mixture over the top of the bread and bake it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked. You then add the fruit on top and serve it like that.
Since you do not add the ricotta at this stage you can then serve the strawberry french toast with heavy cream or whipping cream, which is whipped to soft peaks with some sugar. It’s not a classic french toast recipe but works just as well. Perfect for making it an overnight breakfast bake. You prepare everything up front and once it is time to serve the breakfast you pop it into the oven and your dish is done in no time.
What’s the best kind of bread for french toast?
That varies wildly. I love using raisin bread, sour dough or another dense bread but there are no right or wrongs here. Any bread will work. It depends on your flavor. I use brioche a lot too. Like I mentioned it is the perfect way to get rid of any stale bread. Not too stale though.
Strawberry french toast
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 200 ml whole milk
- 4 slices old bread or raisin bread
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp butter
- 100 gr ricotta cheese
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 tbsp orange juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 150 gr strawberries
- Put the milk in a shallow bowl and whisk in the egg. Mix in the vanilla and cinnamon and place a slice of bread in it. Let it soak for a few minutes but make sure it doesn't get too soggy. You should still be able to handle it. Repeat for the other slices.
- Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and melt a knob of butter. Fry two slices at a time. Few minutes per side until golden brown.
- Meanwhile, mix the ricotta with the honey, orange zest and orange juice and whisk briefly.
- Serve the summer French toast with the ricotta and the cleaned strawberries
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
