Upside Down French Toast 

Upside Down French Toast 

I absolutely love French toast, but frustratingly, The Viking isn’t a fan of sweet things for breakfast or brunch, so we rarely have it. This upside-down version is a wonderfully sweet and jammy mess of a dish, and the great thing is that you can make it as big or as small as you like – a whole tray for a big gathering or a single slice as a mini feast just for you.

Serves 4

• 4 large eggs
• 100ml whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• maple syrup, for drizzling 
• 75g  salted butter
• 100g chopped walnuts
• 100g strawberries, hulled and cut in half
• 100g  blueberries
• 4 thick slices of brioche
• 75g demerara sugar
• 50g icing sugar
• whipped double cream or clotted cream, to serve

YOU WILL NEED

large baking tray, roughly 43 x 30cm (17 x 12in), lined with baking paper (I use the jelly roll sheet from Nordic Ware) 

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (180ºC fan/400°F/Gas 6). Break the eggs into a large bowl and whisk in the milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside.

Drizzle the baking tray generously with maple syrup, then place small knobs of butter all over, followed by the walnuts and half of the berries (dot them randomly over the tray).

 Dip the slices of brioche into the egg batter and place them over the berries and nuts. (I prefer to slightly overlap the slices in a random pattern, as any corners and edges sticking up become extra golden and crunchy.) Sprinkle the top with demerara sugar.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the top of the bread is golden, then remove from the oven and let the brioche sit on the tray for 5 minutes. Lay a piece of baking paper over the top, followed by a chopping board and deftly flip it over. Remove the tray and peel off the backing paper.

 Decorate the top with the remaining berries, a drizzle of maple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar. Serve with whipped or clotted cream.

For more breakfast and brunch recipes, check these out on Dom in the Kitchen

Eat and of course, enjoy!