Panettone Perdu
This Italian twist on French toast is made with thick slices of panettone soaked in sweet custard. It's an easy, super-quick brunch recipe, and can be on the table in under ten minutes.
From the book
Six-Minute Showstoppers
The ultimate guide to fuss-free, high-speed baking.
Packed with ingenious kitchen hacks and 100 delicious recipes.
Including stunning cakes, lavish desserts and tasty tea-time treats.
Introduction
Pain perdu – the posh name for French toast – is a classic dish: crisp and buttery on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside. My recipe takes bog-standard eggy bread to a whole new level, with slices of panettone – the fruity Italian loaf usually eaten at Christmas – soaked in sweet custard
Ingredients
| 2 | eggs |
| 200ml | whole milk or cream |
| 20g | caster sugar |
| zest of 1 orange | |
| 1 tsp | ground nutmeg |
| 1 tsp | vanilla extract |
| 2 | thick-cut slices of panettone |
| For the fruity syrup: | |
| 2 | oranges: use the juice from one half and slice the other into segments |
| 60g | caster sugar |
| 80g | cranberries |
Method
Prep: Put a knob of butter in a large, non-stick frying pan and place it on the hob over a medium-high heat. Place a small saucepan over a medium heat and get it nice and warm. You’ll also need a whisk.
In a wide, deep bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, orange zest, nutmeg and vanilla extract together.
Lay the slices of panettone flat in the bowl and leave them for a few seconds on each side to soak up plenty of custard.
Transfer the panettone to the frying pan. Leave the slices to sizzle for 2 minutes, before flipping to the other side. They should be crisp and golden on the side that’s cooked.
Meanwhile, put the orange juice and caster sugar in the small saucepan and heat together until the sugar dissolves and starts bubbling. After a couple of minutes, add the orange segments and cranberries and leave them to stew for a minute or two.
When the panettone is ready, arrange each slice on a plate and top with the hot zesty syrup.
This is best eaten straight after cooking, but you can keep it in the fridge for 1 or 2 days and reheat in the microwave or a hot pan before serving.
