Yankee French Toast *

This is not your average Tuesday morning French toast. This is Saturday brunch with the windows open and nowhere to be.

Slices of cinnamon raisin bread (a few days old works best) soak in a rich custard of eggs, milk, rum, cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg for a full 30 minutes, until every last bit of that custard soaks in.

Fried in butter until golden and crisp on the outside, creamy and custardy within.

Then comes the kicker: a quick maple-rum syrup you make by simply stirring rum into real maple syrup. It’s liquid New England in a pitcher.

Chef Tips

• Day-old or even two-day-old bread is actually better here. It absorbs the custard without falling apart
• Freshly grated nutmeg makes a noticeable difference over the pre-ground stuff. Just a few passes on a microplane is all you need
• The rum is optional in the custard, but definitely keep it in the syrup. The alcohol cooks off and leaves behind a warm, caramel-like depth
• Don’t rush the soak. That full 30 minutes in the fridge is what gives you the creamy center