Fruity Tutti French Toast
Hey Butter friends, it’s been awhile! So I had to come back and bring the heat.
You ever dream of a dish? You have no idea if it’ll work but you just have to try it! My favorite meal to order as a kid was the fruity tutti fresh & fruity from IHOP.. That bright red cloyingly sweet strawberry sauce with macerated strawberries on top, it was a kid’s dream. Well the high fructose police must have gotten to IHOP because they have since taken it off the menu. This recipe is a tribute - without all the syrup! ENJOY!
First up pastry cream.. What is it?
The most decadent pudding you will ever have.. It is most notably used as the filling for eclairs, cream puffs, donuts. It is highly adaptable, today’s version uses coconut milk instead of the traditional whole milk and I did not add cold butter at the end. The pastry cream will continue to thicken as it cools and can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.
Coconut Pastry Cream
Ingredients:
3 large egg yolks (just yolk, no whites)
5 TBSP sugar; divided
1 1/4 cup coconut milk; divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tsp Pina Colada flavoring and Rum extract
Step 1
Whisk together the egg yolks and 3 TBSP sugar in a bowl.
Step 2
Whisk the cornstarch and 1/4 cup coconut milk in a small bowl and then add to the egg yolk mixture, whisking to combine. Set aside briefly.
Step 3
Combine 1 cup coconut milk with 2 TBSP sugar in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and tiny bubbles appear on the edge of the pan.
Step 4
Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking. Return the entire mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens.
Step 5
Strain the mixture in a fine mesh strainer set over a mixing bowl. Stir in extracts.
Scrape the pastry cream into a bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface, and refrigerate until needed.
Strawberry Coulis
Ingredients
1 lb fresh strawberries (you can use frozen if that’s all you have), hulled and washed
lemon rind of half a lemon
1/2 cup white sugar
Step 1
Add ingredients to a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until berries soften.
Step 2
Remove from heat, remove lemon rind and with an immersion blender, blend until smooth.
Step 3
Strain through a fine mesh sieve at least twice! This will make the sauce smooth and remove pulp and seeds. Refrigerate until needed.
French Toast
Ingredients:
1 loaf brioche slices (challah bread cut into slices will work too)
1 cup coffee creamer
1 cup heavy cream
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract (use rum or pina colada extract if you want to tie in the pastry cream flavorings)
Step 1
Mix your custard ingredients in a large shallow pan, dunk each slice of bread 10 seconds on both sides.
Step 2
In a buttered skillet, on medium heat, fry each slice of bread until golden brown.
Place french toast on a wired rack in a 225 degree oven until ready to plate.
