French Toast with Orange Sauce
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.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I received a copy of PANINI -The simple tastes of Italian-style bread by V. Lavenia.
If you are on a healthy, Mediterranean-style diet, this is a way to use your leftover, stale bread, brioche or rolls. It requires no maple syrup for the topping, and provides some protein, too.
An Orange Twist on French Toast
Many of us enjoy a good French toast now and then, but I wanted to share this recipe because it’s really unique to me. Do you enjoy a good crunch with your meals? I know I do, and the crunch to the toast, combined with the orange sauce in place of maple syrup makes for a delightful combination!
This would make a brilliant special occasion breakfast, like a birthday celebration, Christmas morning, or an option for brunch.
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 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 or brioche
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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French Toast with Orange Sauce
Ingredients
French toast:
- 4 oz milk (or rice milk)
- 1 large egg (preferably organic)
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon (good quality)
- 1 ½ Tbsp brown sugar (save ½ Tbsp for sprinkling)
- 1 Tbsp butter (a few pats-for the pan)
- 4 slices bread (stale-a rustic ciabatta or brioche works well)
Orange Sauce
- juice of 2 oranges (preferably organic)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla powder)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Place the milk, egg, cinnamon, and 1 Tbsp of the 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 the remaining brown sugar- as needed (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 the 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 French toast and serve hot.
Notes
- Skip the sauce and top with another choice of syrups, if you like.
Nutrition
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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!