French Toast Cupcakes

Today I made French Toast Cupcakes

Anybody that knows me will know two of my great loves are French Toast and turning things that aren't normally cupcakes into cupcakes. I love the idea of taking such basic ingredients of bread and eggs and turning them into something magical. I stumbled upon this idea online before and have had such a desire to make them ever since. These little guys play a trick on your taste buds as they look like a normal cupcake but then they taste like French Toast it normally takes people a second for the penny to drop. They are like little bread and butter puddings too. I add a slight crumb to the tops of these cupcakes for a crunchy contrast to the super soft texture of the cupcake. 

These cupcakes are so versatile you can eat them at any part of the day. They are a pretty quirky take on a fairly traditional breakfast. I normally serve these for breakfast still warm drizzled with Maple Syrup with a cup of tea. Although in my house we've been known to have one for dessert with ice-cream or as a late night snack. The mixture is so easy to throw together and can stay in the fridge for a day or two. In fact, they turn out better when you let the bread rest in the mixture for a number of hours or even over night. The bread cubes get to soak up all the eggy goodness. I use a typical Italian style loaf for this recipe, I normally buy the bread a day or two before I need it as the whole process is easier if the bread is a couple of days old and not too soft. 

Ingredients: 

( Makes 12 )

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 Large Italian or French Loaf.
• 120mls Milk
• 7 Large Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Golden Sugar
• 1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
• Maple Syrup - to serve

For the Topping:

• 40g Plain Flour
• 20g Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Golden Sugar

Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Using a sharp knife trim off all the crust from the loaf of bread and cut into 3/4 inch cubes. Place all cubes into a large bowl. (I normally make breadcrumbs from the crusts I cut off, these can be frozen up to three months)

2. In another bowl whisk the Eggs, Milk, Nutmeg and Sugars until fully combined and light in colour. 

3. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes and mix around carefully with a spoon until all cubes are coated. Chill in the fridge for at least half an hour or a couple of hours. You can leave the mixture in the fridge over night (So you can prepare for breakfast the night before)

4. To make the crumb topping place the Butter, Flour and Sugars in a small bowl and mix until resembles breadcrumbs. Set aside.

                   

5. Oil your cupcake tin. Fill each space right up to the top. Sprinkle a generous amount of the crumb on top of each. 

6. Bake for 20-24 minutes. Mine normally take 22 minutes. You will know when the top of the crumble is nice a golden brown. Leave to cool for 6-8 minutes in the tin then turn them out on to a wire wrack. Drizzle with copious amount of Maple Syrup and Enjoy. 

"I'd rather have too much of a good thing than not have the good thing at all"