Breakfast is Served: Panettone French Toast

There are some people who make the most ridiculous claim. This is it: "I forget to eat breakfast".

I, personally, have never in my life forgotten to eat breakfast. There have been maybe a handful of times when I didn't eat breakfast for various reasons, but never because I forgot.

I love breakfast--it's one of the best parts of the day for me. So when I got sent a big ol' box of panettone in the mail from Bauli as part of their #BauliBakeOff event, I immediately began to think of ways to breakfast-ize it. 

I decided to stay really simple and make panettone French toast. This is fusion at its best: Italian meets French, Christmas meets brunch. The absorbent, fluffy bread soaks up the milk and egg mixture like a pro, and fries up toasty on the edges, and custard-y on the inside. It is so good, I can ignore the vaguely fruitcake-esque characteristics of the panettone which, on lesser days, can irritate me. 

This is a simple recipe, but very delicious. I sliced the panettone into huge coins, so it makes for a fun presentation, too, with each serving about the size of a salad plate! 

Panettone French toast

Makes 4 very generous servings

• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch salt
• 1/4 cup granulated or brown sugar
• 1 panettone di Milano (you'll use about half of it)
• maple syrup, for serving (optional)

Procedure

1. Combine the first five ingredients (everything but the bread) in a large, flat vessel such as a pie plate or a 9x9-inch baking pan. Whisk together until combined.
2. Slice the panettone into nearly inch-thick slices, like coins, starting from the top. 
3. Place the first slice in the soaking mixture, and let it soak for 20-30 seconds. Flip it and let it soak on the second side.
4. Place a frying pan large enough to accomodate the large slices on a burner. Turn the heat on high, and melt a generous knob of butter in the pan. Once it's sizzly, place the soaked slice on the burner. Immediately reduce the heat to medium. Fry on one side until golden and toasty (about 2 minutes on my stovetop) and then flip and repeat on the second side.
5. While the first slice fries, soak the second slice. Make yourself a little assembly line so that while one slice fries, you are soaking the slice on deck.
6. Serve immediately. This tastes great with maple syrup.

What's your favorite "alternative" carb for French toast?

Pillsbury Bake-Off Countdown: Polynesian Pull-Apart

CakeSpy Note: OMG! It's getting to be that time of year again. The Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming in November! Since I so deeply loved attending the 45th Bake-Off as well as the 46th Bake-Off, I thought I would get you excited the 47th one early by sharing all of the sweet recipes in the running. I will focus on sweets! You can follow them by clicking the bakeoff tag below to see the recipes posted so far (as well as recipes from previous Bake-Off events). 

 I'll level with you. I'm hungry right now, and I want to eat this thing. This thing, of course, being "Polynesian Pull-Apart", a sweet bread dreamed up by Jane McMillen of Winter Garden, Florida.

Made with refrigerated biscuits, it's the cream cheese, pineapple juice, macadamia nuts, and coconut extract that make it a tropical treat that is mighty fine to eat. Good luck at the Bake-Off!

Polynesian Pull-Apart

• Prep Time: 15 Min
• Total Time: 1 Hr
• Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 can Pillsbury Grands Homestyle refrigerated southern style biscuits (8 biscuits)
• 1/3 cup butter, melted 3oz cream cheese, softened (from 8-oz package)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons pineapple juice
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 10-inch fluted tube pan with non-stick cooking spray. In 9-inch pie plate, mix 1 cup of the sugar and the macadamia nuts; set aside.
2. Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Cut each biscuit in half. Dip both sides of biscuit halves into melted butter; roll in sugar mixture to coat all sides. Place cut sides up in bottom of fluted tube pan. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over biscuit halves.
3. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; turn ring upside down onto serving plate; cool an additional 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in small bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining 1/4 cup sugar with electric mixer on medium speed 30 to 45 seconds or until smooth. Beat in 1 tablespoon of the pineapple juice and the coconut extract; add additional pineapple juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over hot pull-apart ring. Serve warm.