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For some reason, this Holiday season seems a bit busier than previous years. Since Thanksgiving, I have been going non stop with various work functions, special events, parties and projects. This past weekend, I finally had a brief moment to breathe. My first thought: Brunch. Brunch is one of my favorite meals. It’s like breakfast with the dial turned way up. And… who doesn’t love a meal that encourages day drinking? So on Sunday, I invited one of my friends over and whipped up a delicious batch of Panettone French Toast. Served beside crispy strips of bacon and a fiery bloody mary, this dish is exactly what I needed to get through the rest of the Holiday season. Continue reading for the recipe.
Panettone French Toast
Ingredients
- 1 lb panettone (about ½ a loaf)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- Zest of 1 orange
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
- Unsalted butter, room temperature
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
- Warm maple syrup, for drizzling
Instructions
- Cut the panettone into 5 thick, vertical slices. Discard any ends pieces. Cut the remaining slices in half lengthwise.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs lightly to break up the yolk. Add milk, orange zest, orange juice, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, whisking to combine. Pour the egg mixture into a large, shallow baking dish.
- Heat an electric griddle or large frying over medium heat. Slice a small pat of butter onto the griddle. Using a paper towel, spread the butter evenly over the surface.
- Place a few slices of bread into the egg mixture. Let the bread soak for about 10 seconds and then flip. Once the second side has soaked for 10 seconds, carefully lift the bread from the mixture and let any excess egg drip off. Place the slices on the heated griddle and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides (about 4 - 5 minutes per side). Using a spatula, transfer cooked slices to a 200°F oven.* This will keep your finished French toast warm while other slices are cooking.
- Divide French toast between 4 plates, top each serving with a dusting of powdered sugar and drizzle of warm maple syrup.
Notes
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I’m Brandon: food explorer, recipe curator, cocktail shaker, dessert lover. Kitchen Konfidence is how I document my time spent in my favorite space, the kitchen. Did you make a recipe? Tag @brandiego on Instagram so I can see the how it went!
Roxan says
Wow that is one huge hunk of bread! Can you believe that up until about last week I had never heard of panettone before? I thought it was some other form of pancetta until I googled it. Now, I’m seeing it everywhere. I love breads in general, so I am planning on trying this. This french toast looks amazing!
Biz says
I had never even heard of panettone until I married my Italian husband 10 years ago – now it is a Christmas staple – but never thought to make it into french toast – brilliant!
Mateja says
I would replace breakfast for any meal any time of the day; especially when somthing so delicious is served! Thanks for adding me on FoodBuzz ^_^
Mina @ Angellove's Cooking says
Panettone French Toast 🙂 merely brilliant idea!!!
penny aka jeroxie says
I always get my panettone…. laziness I guess. but it is christmas. i am allowed!
Grace says
I was just thinking about making a Panettone. It wouldn’t be Christmas in our home without it. I especially love it used in French Toast.
Irena says
Beautiful….o my I love Panettone-French toast style is a great idea. I love to make raisin bread French toast with good Cappuccino, it is super tasty.
Kim - Liv Life says
An excellent recipe! I recently obtained my first kitchen rasp and I can’t tell you how much I love it! I have no problem making my own zest now. Beautiful photos, as usual.
Rae says
Looking forward to using my panettone recipe with this – thanks for posting!
Sandra says
So good!
Kate @ Diethood.com says
What a great idea! Yum!
Jazz Rules says
We were just talking about this yesterday! I work in Boston’s North End, so we are up to our ears in Panettone! My boss makes us buy one about every other day when the last one runs out. He even has stocked up on them for after the holiday season. We were discussing how fabulous it would be to make french toast out of panettone. I am going to surprise my fiance with this Christmas morning!
Joy says
That looks great. French toasting anything makes it so much better.
Jenny @ meltingbutter says
yum! reminds me of Italy :))
Tes says
Wow what a great recipe. I love panettone… I need to try this 🙂
Becky says
Congratulations on the top 9 today!! Great recipe!
Brandon Matzek says
@Roxan Well I come from an Italian family, so I am very familiar with Panettone. But I could understand how you would not have heard of it before. They were usually only sold in Italian markets. They have become a bit more mainstream over the past several years.
@Mateja You’re welcome!
@Kim So excited for your new rasp! I use mine all the time – lemon zest, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese.
@Jazz Rules Great to hear! This French toast would be a wonderful surprise on Christmas morning. I am planning on making it again as well.
@Becky Thanks!
Fresh and Foodie says
Yum! My husband and I make panettone french toast every year on Christmas morning. There’s nothing better!
shannon says
You had me at the orange zest!! Wonderful recipe!! Congrats on making foodbuzz top 9!!
Jordana @ White Cabana says
Panettone is a staple at Christmas time with us Italians! I
don’t actually like it but maybe I would if I transform it into
French toast. Great idea! Not sure what my Italian relatives would
think about this though. They’d probably say there’s no need to
mess with perfection. Something like that. 😉 -Jordana
Justin Northcutt says
I was lucky enough to walk into a Williams-Sonoma in Rochester Hills, MI a few years ago and receive a special Panettone treat! They had made Panettone French Toast using the W-S branded version, but had made it in a special way. They had made a stuffed version where they saute’d pears with some good cinnamon, and had added a layer of cream cheese in the middle with the pears. It was amazing. I bought their Panettone, went home, and made it myself. I did change from cream cheese to mascarpone to be a bit more Italian, and mixed in a bit of vanilla. This has been a Christmas morning/brunch request every year since. It’s rich, but it’s the perfect once a year thing. Thank you to the woman at W-S who talked to me about the recipe, you started a family tradition!