French toast and chai tea are delicious breakfast treats. Why not put them together? This recipe for chai spiced French toast steps up your French toast to make a special breakfast even more special.
One of the ways that I show that I care is by cooking something special. During the pandemic, schools were closed by myself and my team were always working. To show my appreciation I made French toast for them and we sat and ate it together.
There's nothing like sharing a meal with your team. Team building is important so that people can work together for common goals. When teams can't get along, work doesn't get done. Ideas aren't shared and progress doesn't flourish. Eating is a common thing. Everyone has to eat. We may eat different foods and like different tastes, but we can talk about that over a smorgasbord of different foods around a potluck table.
Have you noticed that there are most always stories around the food at potlucks? It's a beloved dish that their grandma used to make. Or it's a cultural dish that is familiar in their home but totally foreign to others. It amazes me how we can have the same or similar ingredients but have completely different but equally tasty recipes.
That flexibility is what makes cooking fun and sharing food even better. French toast wasn't even created in France. It's been around long before France was even a country. But we're going to continue to call it French toast even when we flavor it with spices of Indian chai tea. There are many combinations of masala chai tea. I like mine with black tea, ginger, cinnamon, and green cardamom. There are many blends that you can find that also have star anise. It's just not a flavor that I am fond of.
I spiced my milk for the custard with English breakfast tea. I waited for the milk to cool down completely and then added in the eggs, spices, and vanilla. A quick dip of the bread into the custard and fry in butter. Yum. I used pan challah bread for this recipe but you could use brioche if you like.
Chai Spiced French Toast
Serves 8
Ingredients
6 thick slices Challah or Brioche bread
1 sachet English breakfast or Earl Grey tea
3/4 Cup Milk
1/2 tsp Cardamom
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ginger
4 Large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 Cup Butter, unsalted, divided
Maple syrup, to serve
Steps
In a small sauce pot, heat milk until just about to boil. (Do not boil) Turn off heat. Add in tea and steep for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove tea bag and allow to cool completely.
In a small bowl mix milk steeped with tea, eggs, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Melt 1 - 2 Tbsp of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, dip 2 - 3 bread slices in custard mixture. Make sure to coat each side. Cook bread 2 - 3 minutes until brown on one side and then turn over and brown on the other side an additional minute. Do not crowd the bread into the pan.
Continue to cook in batches until all bread has been cooked. Serve warm with maple syrup. Enjoy!