Nigella Lawson French Toast

Nigella Lawson’s rum-spiked French toast is slightly stale white bread steeped in a rum, egg and brown sugar custard, fried in butter and doused in a golden-syrup-and-rum syrup. It serves 2, from her book Cook, Eat, Repeat.

She calls it her favourite French toast of all time, one she doesn’t make nearly enough. It came about from using up a bit of old-fashioned sandwich loaf, and though it can look a little plain, she promises it tastes gloriously like a rum baba.

Her favourite way to eat it is unusual: left to go cold once the syrup’s poured over, so it firms up and you can pick it up by hand, like a fine pastry. But she’s more than happy for you to tuck straight in while it’s warm.

 Nigella Lawson French Toast

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Dessert, BreakfastCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Calories

480

kcal

Total time

20

minutes

Nigella’s rum-spiked French toast from Cook, Eat, Repeat: stale bread steeped in a rum, egg and brown sugar custard, fried golden in butter and soaked in a golden-syrup-and-rum syrup. Serves two, or one greedy person.

Ingredients

• 2 slices slightly stale white bread, cut from a loaf

• 2 x 15ml tablespoons (40g) golden syrup

• 1 teaspoon maple syrup

• 1 large egg

• 2 x 15ml tablespoons (30ml) full-fat milk

• 1 x 15ml tablespoon (15ml) plus 1 teaspoon (5ml) rum

• 1 x 15ml tablespoon (15g) soft dark brown sugar

• 2 to 3 x 15ml tablespoons (30 to 45g) soft unsalted butter (or more as desired)

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Directions

• Prep the bread:Cut two thinnish slices of slightly stale bread and cut each into two triangles. If your bread isn’t stale, leave the triangles out for a couple of hours (or overnight) to dry out.
• Make the syrup:Mix together the golden syrup with 1 teaspoon each of rum and maple syrup, and set aside.
• Steep:In a dish (about 25 x 20cm), whisk the egg with the milk and a tablespoon each of soft dark brown sugar and rum. Add the four bread triangles and steep for 2 minutes a side, until they’ve drunk all the sugary rum milk.
• Fry:Heat the butter in a large non-stick frying pan (28cm to do them in one batch, or work in two). Once melted and bubbling, fry the bread for 3½ to 4 minutes a side, until cooked through and crisped and browned in places. Remove to plates.
• Serve:Pour over the syrup, and add mango cubes if you like. Nigella often leaves hers to go cold at this point, adding a few mango cubes later, but tuck in straight away if you prefer.

Notes

• (the bread): You don’t have to use an old-fashioned sandwich loaf, but don’t use plastic sliced white. Nigella’s only real rule.
• (eat it cold): Nigella loves this best left to go cold once the syrup’s on, so it firms up and can be eaten by hand like a fine pastry, though warm is lovely too.
• (extras): Add berries, banana or cubes of mango on the side, or sprinkle toasted flaked almonds on top, if you like.
• (make ahead / store): It’s not advisable to make ahead or store.

FAQs

Why use slightly stale bread?

Slightly stale, dried-out bread is firmer and drinks up the custard without collapsing into a soggy mess. Fresh, soft bread turns to mush when steeped and falls apart in the pan, whereas day-old bread soaks up all the rum-spiked milk while still holding its shape to fry crisp.

If your bread is fresh, Nigella’s fix is simple: cut the triangles and leave them out for a couple of hours, or overnight, to dry. Her one firm rule is not to use plastic sliced white, which is too flimsy. A proper white loaf, ideally an old-fashioned sandwich loaf, is what she reaches for.

Why is there rum in both the custard and the syrup?

The rum is what makes this taste, in Nigella’s words, gloriously like a rum baba rather than a plain breakfast. It goes into the steeping custard, so the flavour soaks right through the bread, and again into the golden-syrup glaze poured over at the end, for a double hit of warm, boozy sweetness.

It’s a grown-up French toast, so it’s not one for children. If you’d rather leave the alcohol out, a splash of vanilla or a little orange juice keeps some flavour, though you lose the signature rum-baba character. The golden syrup and maple bring the sweetness either way.

Why does Nigella eat it cold?

It’s her favourite way, and worth trying. Once the syrup’s poured over and the French toast is left to cool, it soaks in and firms up, so you can pick it up and eat it by hand like a sticky, rum-soaked pastry rather than a knife-and-fork breakfast. It becomes something closer to a rum baba or a little cake.

That said, it’s just as good warm and fresh from the pan, crisp-edged and soft in the middle, so do whatever suits your mood. Nigella is relaxed about it, adding mango later if she fancies. It’s one of those rare dishes that’s genuinely lovely at either temperature.

What can I serve with it?

It’s rich and sweet on its own, but sharp or fresh fruit balances it beautifully. Nigella suggests cubes of mango, and berries or sliced banana on the side, or a sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds on top for crunch. A little crème fraîche or plain yoghurt cuts the sweetness if you want it less pudding-like.

Because it eats like a dessert as much as a breakfast, it also works after dinner with a scoop of ice cream. Keep any additions simple, since the rum, butter and syrup are doing the heavy lifting. For a proper pud in a similar sticky, boozy spirit, Nigella’s sticky toffee pudding is the one.

Can I make it ahead or store leftovers?

No, and Nigella is clear on this: it’s not advisable to make ahead or store. French toast is at its best freshly made, and while she loves eating it cold within the same sitting, it doesn’t keep well beyond that, going soggy and dense once refrigerated.

The good news is it’s quick, so it’s easy to make fresh whenever the craving hits. If you want to get slightly ahead, you can cut and stale the bread and mix the syrup in advance, but do the steeping and frying just before eating. It’s a treat best enjoyed there and then.

Is it a breakfast or a dessert?

Both, happily. With its rum, syrup and butter it’s really a sweet treat, so it makes an indulgent weekend breakfast or brunch, but it’s substantial and boozy enough to serve as a pudding after dinner too, especially left to cool into its pastry-like state.

Nigella’s own framing, “the perfect amount for one greedy person”, tells you it’s a small, rich indulgence rather than an everyday breakfast. Serve it with fruit for brunch or with ice cream for dessert. There are more of Nigella’s comforting bakes and treats on the Nigella Lawson recipes page.