Cinnamon French toast with orange sauce is a fabulous twist on French toast. It’s lower in sugar as it’s lightly sweetened with a fresh orange sauce, too.
This recipe is so simple, yet with the unique orange flavored syrup and a surprising ‘crunch’, I know it’s going to be a regular in my breakfast menu rotation instead of plain French toast with maple syrup or even the classic French toast, as it’s made in France.
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I recently received a copy of PANINI -The simple tastes of Italian-style bread by V. Lavenia. Needless to say, I would never write about or promote anything that I didn’t fully believe was worthy of a post on my site.
PANINI is a very simple cookbook with simple recipes, but, don’t let this mislead you. These are fabulous creations that bring together many different components of Italian cuisine: there are some classics, traditional Italian panini, and others are the author’s own creative combinations which still keep in line with a healthy, Mediterranean-style diet.
Panini
How many different sandwiches do you make? Can your repertoire use a little expansion beyond peanut butter and jelly, chicken, egg or tuna salad; ham, turkey or roast beef with mayo, lettuce, tomato, maybe even bologna or a BLT.
The range of sandwiches in the PANINI book is extensive, and what’s really lovely is that every single creation features a full page photo. How’s that for enticing you to venture out into unknown sandwich territory? I love lots of photos in cookbooks and this one hits the mark.
After the introduction and discussing Italian bread, Veronica provides us with a basic bread recipe for Italian style bread and focaccia. The main part of the book is divided into four parts: Bruschetta, Panini, Tramezzini (more traditional-style sandwiches as we know them in the US) and Toast. Most recipes have minimal ingredients and are very light and fresh; you won’t find any Dagwood type sandwiches in PANINI, that’s for sure!
I’ve decided to share a non-sandwich recipe from this cookbook. I hope you enjoy this cinnamon French toast with orange sauce. If you’d like to order the book, PANINI is available on Amazon.com.
My family truly enjoyed this French toast, but one thing we really loved was the surprising crunch from the brown sugar that’s sprinkled on just before cooking!
This is great for people with nut allergies as it gives the same sort of crunch as nuts would, without the nuts! Fabulous idea, and this creation could absolutely be served as dessert, as well as a breakfast or brunch dish.
Cinnamon French Toast with Orange Sauce
slightly adapted from PANINI serves 2
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- milk (or rice milk)
- egg
- cinnamon
- brown sugar
- butter
- stale bread
Orange Sauce
- juice of oranges
- vanilla extract or vanilla powder
- brown sugar
Place the milk, egg, cinnamon, and 1 tbsp brown sugar in a bowl and beat until well mixed and smooth.
Soak the bread in the mixture (you can do this the night before if you prefer). I love these trays for breading, dipping food in flour and eggs, etc. You’ll see them in my schnitzel recipe post, too.
In a skillet, place the pats of butter over medium heat, then sprinkle the soaked bread with a little brown sugar and place (sugar side down) in the pan; sprinkle the top with more brown sugar (for a crispy toast).
Cook for a few minutes on each side until golden brown.
While the toast is cooking, put the orange juice, vanilla and 2 tbsp brown sugar (more or less, to taste) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir until the juice has reduced to a syrup, stirring continuously so that it doesn’t stick. Pour into a small jug.
Drizzle the syrup over the cinnamon toast and serve hot.
Let me know if you made and enjoyed this cinnamon French toast with orange sauce in the comments below!
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Cinnamon French Toast with Orange Sauce
A lovely French toast recipe, flavored with orange sauce.
Ingredients
- 4 oz (125ml) milk (or rice milk)
- 1 large egg, preferably organic
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (good quality)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- butter for the pan (a few pats)
- 4 slices of stale bread, a rustic ciabatta works well
- (more brown sugar for sprinkling)
Orange Sauce
- juice of 2 oranges, preferably organic
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla powder
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Place the milk, egg, cinnamon, and 1 tbsp brown sugar in a bowl and beat until well mixed and smooth.
- Soak the bread in the mixture (you can do this the night before if you prefer).
- In a skillet, place the pats of butter over medium heat, then sprinkle the soaked bread with a little brown sugar and place (sugar side down) in the pan; sprinkle the top with more brown sugar (for a crispy toast).
- Cook for a few minutes on each side until golden brown.
- While the toast is cooking, put the orange juice, vanilla and 2 tbsp brown sugar (more or less, to taste) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir until the juice has reduced to a syrup, stirring continuously so that it doesn't stick.
- Drizzle the syrup over the Cinnamon Toast and serve hot.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving:Calories: 329Total Fat: 12gCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 8g
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Christina,
Veronica’s book looks wonderful. I’m all for simple recipes that are absolutely scrumptious. My granny used to make us a cinnamon toast very like this for breakfast but what a super, classy idea with the fresh orange sauce to accompany it. This definitely makes it extra special and could easily be served as a dessert. Great inspiration! Your photos are stunning as ever, Christina you temptress!
Oh dear, I’m just seeing this comment now, Jill! However, looking at the date, I realize why: I was in England, just at the beginning of my culinary tour around Europe (a week before our jaunt to Bordeaux)! Thank you for your lovely comments, this recipe is a stunner! :)
Yum! While we generally only have a big bowl of cocoa for breakfast, I think we’d both be willing to make an exception for this! I have to check out her book – I have been seeking a good recipe for a Roman bread called Rosette. I keep coming across faked versions… :)
I know the rosettes you are referring to, they are empty inside, right? I LOVE those things, but we’d have to sneak them into the house when we’d buy them in Italy because Nonno would get mad if he saw them. Why? We were wasting our money, buying bread that was empty inside wasn’t good value! :) I will try to find a recipe when I go to Italy, for you and me, both!
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and I loved imagining sprinkling the brown sugar onto my french toast right before making it. Classing up one of my favorite easy breakfasts!