French toast with peaches

A breakfast recipe so simple - yet so impressive! - you'll probably have to make it this week

Some partners bring their significant other flowers. Mine brings me fruit. For our anniversary instead of a bunch of roses, I received a pallet of mangoes. SWOON!! No, but really. They were Alfonso mangoes, imported from India, and even through their protective padding, they smelled better than any perfume. You see, I’d watched someone taste test mangoes on Instagram - this is how all great romance stories begin, right? - and these were deemed the best, helped in part by the fact their ‘season’ is about two weeks long - blink and you’ll miss out for another year! - and I HAD to know for myself. As a thoughtful ‘we made it to 14 years’ gift, Alex made my mango-y dreams come true. The Alfonso mangoes were worthy of the hype and truly like no mango, or anything really, I’ve eaten before. A little floral but still very tropical-fruity, like an Opal Fruit sweet when they were good, and just a smidge up from puree texture-wise - they slice like butter and have to be eaten straight away, dragged off of the skin with your teeth.

Last week, I was pining for peaches. And so, our latest Ocado featured fuzzy, plump peaches, courtesy of the big man ofc. One peach was devoured before the rest of the big shop was even unpacked, and the rest I knew had to be roasted or fried into something more elaborate, sweet, and jammy. Enter, my easy-peasy French toast recipe, which I’ve pimped with peaches.

The measurements don’t matter a whole lot with this French toast recipe; I usually just splash a bit of this and sprinkle a bit of that, but I have tried to be more specific for you. I’m not looking for a ‘well done!’ for making a recipe, an actual recipe, simply reassuring you that you needn’t be too precise or worry if you’ve got a little less milk or no cream or whatever. It doesn’t even matter what kind of bread you use, but something thick and crusty or a little stale is best. Alternatives to the baguette I like to use include brioche and challah, always cut thick.

Serves 2-3

For the French toast

• 2 large eggs

• 100ml milk

• 50ml double cream

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 large baguette, sliced into 5-6cm chunks (if part-baked, bake for a little less than the packet instructs, for a minute or two less)

• 2 tbsp salted butter

For the peaches

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1 tbsp sugar

• 2-3 peaches, sliced

Grab a measuring jug and pour in the milk, cream, vanilla, eggs and cinnamon, and whisk vigorously until completely smooth.

Arrange the bread across the bottom of one or two cake tins, already filled with all, or equal measures of, the egg mix. Leave for 10 minutes, occasionally wiggly and pressing the bread into the liquid - if nothing else, you’ll feel like you’re hurrying the absorption process along.

Turn the oven on - it doesn’t need to be any hotter than 150, it’s just to keep the bread warm once it’s done in the pan.

Then, flip the bread over and let the other side absorb custardy goodness for 10 minutes. I like to give the crusty sides a couple of minutes each afterwards too but you don’t have to.

Put the butter into a hot pan, let it brown and bubble a little, then turn it down to a medium heat and ‘fry’ the baguette slices for a few minutes on each side until lightly browned. Pop the bread on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you sort out your peaches.

Use a new pan on a medium heat to cook the peaches. Add the butter, let it brown and bubble and then add the sugar. Stir until sludgy and then throw in the peach slices. Keep an eye on things the whole time, moving and flipping slices as and when needed. You want them to brown and crisp a little without burning, which shouldn’t take longer than 6-7 minutes.

Plate up the French toast, top with sugary peach slices and serve. Sometimes I’ll add a dollop of creme fraiche but truly, this is a brilliant brunch without.