Michael and I recently went to St. Martin for a beach getaway. Although we rarely buy souvenirs on any of our trips, we simply couldn’t resist getting a bottle of the island’s coconut rum! I don’t usually drink rum (or any kind of liquor for that matter), but we were given a free shot at every restaurant we dined at. We had every flavor ranging from vanilla rum to banana rum. Our favorite, however, was the coconut rum! So, we naturally bought a big bottle to take back with us ;).
The bottle of rum was staring me in the face the morning after we returned to NYC. I kept thinking of different ways to incorporate the rum in my cooking. As I opened the refrigerator door and saw a bag of stale bread, it hit me – coconut rum french toast! I was so excited to make breakfast that morning, but even more excited to eat it :).
*I used 1/2-inch slices of whole wheat bread because that’s all we had, but you can use almost any type of bread that’s readily available. For example, Texas toast, french bread, panettone, or plain white bread will do, just make sure it’s slightly stale. You will also need more egg mixture if using thicker slices of bread such as Texas toast. Just remember to adjust the recipe accordingly, e.g. double the egg mixture recipe.
Serve your french toast with powdered sugar or maple syrup (or both), and I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Recipe
Yield: 2 servings
INGREDIENTS:
3 large eggs
1 cup milk or half and half
1/4 cup coconut rum (you can add more based on your preference, I won’t judge)
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
6 slices of bread*
butter for cooking
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a casserole or deep dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, rum, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
2. Soak bread in egg mixture, about 2 minutes for 1/2-inch slices and 4 minutes for 1-inch slices. Work in batches by only soaking enough slices that will fit on your pan at the same time.
3. Melt a little butter on a griddle or large pan over medium heat. Place soaked bread slices onto the pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Serve with powdered sugar and/or maple syrup.
