French toast recipe with a twist

This unusual French toast, pain perdu, was inspired by a recipe shown on the French morning TV, Tele Matin. I have modified it by replacing the brioche, sweet bun, with whole wheat muffin which is much more usual in our household. You can make this recipe with almost any fruit in season; peaches, apricots, apples…

2- 3 servings

1 whole wheat muffin
150 ml milk
1 vanilla pod
1 egg
1 tbsp sugar
2 fresh and ripe peaches

Preheat the oven to 180° C.

Pour the milk into a bowl and gently warm it in a microwave oven. Half the vanilla pod lengthwise and place in the milk. Whisk until it has released the vanilla grains into the milk, then discard the pod. Cut the muffin into cubes and place them into the milk to get soaked.

In a larger bowl, whisk the egg and sugar. Pour the muffin- milk mixture into the egg- sugar mixture.

Wash and dry the peaches and cut into cubes. Add them into the muffin- egg- milk and mix well.

Oil a small non- stick ovenproof dish and pour the fruit- muffin- egg- milk mixture into it. Bake for 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and gently ease the edges from the dish with a wooden spatula. Place a plate upside down on top of the dish and quickly turn over the dish and plate releasing the “French toast” on to the plate. Lift off the ovenproof dish and serve.

Come to think of it, this dessert could also be called Tarte Tatin with a twist by the way the bake is released from the dish. Serve it with a good vanilla ice cream if you wish to intensify the vanilla flavour.