French Toast, Berry Compote and Amaretto Whipped Cream

This was my requested birthday breakfast last month.  I LOVE french toast and it is such a treat when I do get it.  However, as much as I liked the french toast, my favorite part of the meal was the berry compote.  And the amaretto whipped cream didn't hurt, either.

Perhaps not surprisingly, I insist on making my own birthday breakfast and cake. (Although we did go out to dinner at my cousin's wonderful restaurant in DC, Medium Rare.  Seriously, if you like good bread, good salad, good fries and good steak (and who doesn't?), you should go.  My husband is convinced we should be going at all possible times.)  Ahem, got a little carried away -- back to the post.  Although I make my own birthday breakfast, I never mind help in the kitchen so when my sister came over after church, I immediately put her to work.  She fixed up the berry compote and the amaretto whipped cream and I prepped the french toast.

The french toast was non-traditional french toast.  The batter is similar to pancake batter so it forms a crust around the entire slice of bread.  It was delicious and a fun twist on the the norm and reheated perfectly in the toaster the next morning.  But as I mentioned, the berry compote was my favorite.  It had tons of fruit (I even cheated and used a frozen mixed berry bag from Trader Joe's) with a little brown sugar, butter and lemon juice.  Enough to sweeten and brighten the compote.  And served warm?  Wow.  I'd love to try this (cooled) over frozen yogurt or maybe just regular yogurt.

The amaretto whipped cream will be my go-to whipped cream from now on -- I love that you get the taste of slightly sweetened amaretto in every bite (I always like to up the amount of amaretto, too).

Altogether, it does seem like a lot of moving parts for one breakfast - french toast, berry compote and whipped cream.  And while it is helpful to have a second set of hands (thanks, Laura!), none of the steps are particularly complicated so we were still able to have a wonderful breakfast on the table in about 30 minutes.  These recipes could also be used on their own or with different meals.

I've had this post in the queue for FOUR days.  And all I had to do was upload a photo. Yikes!  Life somehow got in the way.

French Toast with Pancake Batter
Taken from: Freckles & Sunshine

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk (I used skim)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• 10-12 slices of bread (you’ll want something fairly thick and hearty so it will stand up to the heavier batter such as brioche or french bread.  I actually made my own Sally Lunn bread several days in advance.)

1. Heat a griddle over medium high heat until a drop of water skitters across the pan.  While griddle is heating, beat eggs until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients.
2. Dip one slice of bread at a time in the batter until it is completely covered. Place on the griddle and cook until brown on one side. Then, flip and brown the other side. You will know the bread is ready to flip in the same way you know pancakes are ready: the edges look dry and bubbles have formed in the batter along the crust. Server with berry compote and amaretto whipped cream (recipes below). These also freeze well for breakfast later in the week and can be reheated in the toaster.

Berry Compote
Taken from: A Hint of Honey

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 cups mixed berries of your choice (this happened to be exactly one bag of Trader Joe's Very Cherry Berry frozen berries)

1. To prepare the mixed berry compote, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Add the berries and toss gently. 
2. Cook for 2-5 minutes, until the berries are warm and begin to release their juices (I let it simmer a little longer to help reduce the liquid). Serve warm.

Amaretto Whipped Cream
Taken from: The Sweets Life

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2-4 tbsp amaretto
• 1 tbsp sugar

1. Beat heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and amaretto and continue to beat until soft peaks return. Do not overbeat.  (After I finished beating, I refrigerated mine for about 10-15 minutes while the french toast was still cooking.)