The best panettone French toast

Name: The best panettone French toast
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 British Blacktail Free Range Large Egg; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; ¼ orange, scrubbed, zest; ½ tsp vanilla extract; 25 g caster sugar; Small pinch sea salt flakes; 125 ml whole milk; 750 g classic panettone; 50 g butter; Maple syrup, to serve; Toasted almonds, to serve; Orange segments, to serve; Greek yogurt or whipped cream, to serve

Martha Collison's take on the festive classic is quick to make and needs no pre-prep, so you can roll out of bed, see if Santa has been, then crack straight into French toast frying!

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Vegetarian

Serves4
CourseBrunch
Prepare10 mins
Cook15 mins
Total time25 mins

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Ingredients

1 British Blacktail Free Range Large Egg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ orange, scrubbed, zest
½ tsp vanilla extract
25g caster sugar
Small pinch sea salt flakes
125ml whole milk
⅓ x 750g classic panettone
50g butter
Maple syrup, to serve
Toasted almonds, to serve
Orange segments, to serve
Greek yogurt or whipped cream, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 150ºC, gas mark 2, to keep the French toast warm later. Beat together the egg, cinnamon, orange zest and vanilla extract in a wide rectangular dish big enough to hold a slice of panettone. Add the sugar and salt into the mix and beat again, then pour in the milk and whisk.
Cut the panettone into 4 slices (halving depending on the size of your panettone), about 2.5cm thick, and set aside. Each slice will weigh about 60-65g.
Melt ½ the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Dip a slice of panettone into the egg mixture and soak for 20 seconds on each side until saturated. Lift out and allow any excess liquid to drain off.
Fry (in batches if needed) for 3-4 minutes – reducing the heat if necessary – until golden and caramelised on the bottom, then flip over. Cook for 1-2 minutes more on the other side, until puffed up and cooked through. Remove from the pan and keep warm in the oven if needed until ready to serve (see tips, right). Repeat with the remaining panettone, adding the remaining butter to the pan, if needed, until all the egg mixture is used up.
Serve with maple syrup, toasted almonds, orange segments and yogurt or whipped cream for the perfect festive breakfast.

Cook’s tip

Feeding a crowd
French toast is best hot out of the pan, so use all your frying pans at once if you’ve got lots of people to feed! Failing that, pop the oven on low and put the cooked slices inside, covered with a piece of foil to keep warm until you’ve fried enough to go around.

Flavour variations
Why not mix and match with your favourite flavours of panettone in this recipe? Those without a cream centre work best, such as any made with chocolate or nuts – have a look in branch for all the new flavours available this year.

Prevent food waste
This recipe is brilliant on Christmas Day, but is also a wonderful way to freshen up stale panettone if you have any leftovers after the big dinner. Stale bread makes better French toast, as it will absorb more of the delicious custardy liquid.