French toast with carameralised peaches and thyme

This recipe came about a couple of years ago, when Adam and I were gifted a huge basket of home grown peaches. The fruit had been picked a little too early and as a result the peaches never ripened properly. It felt wasteful to just toss the peaches into the green waste bin, so I decided to show them a little love.

With a little time, butter and sugar I was able to transform those peaches into something soft, sweet and syrupy. This dish has now become a well-loved favourite in our house, particularly at this time of the year when the days are long and warm and the stone fruit is abundant. The thyme seems like a slightly odd addition, but its subtle, earthy flavour works wonderfully with the sweet peaches.

This is definitely not an ‘everyday’ breakfast, rather best savoured on a slow Saturday morning, in pyjamas with a cup of coffee in hand…

The quantities below generously fed two adults and infant with a small serving of peaches left over.

What you’ll need

FOR THE PEACHES

• Eight medium sized semi ripe peaches, diced (I leave the skin on)
• 40g of unsalted butter
• Two teaspoons of brown sugar

FOR THE FRENCH TOAST

• Day old white sourdough loaf, thickly sliced
• Three large eggs
• 50ml of full fat milk
• 1/4 of a teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg
• 20g of butter
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme
• A drizzle of honey

How to do it

1. Add the diced peaches into a medium sized frying pan with the butter. Over a medium-low heat cook the peaches until they become fragrant and start to bubble. Stir in the brown sugar. Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until the peaches are soft, but not completely pulpy.
2. Meanwhile in a medium size bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. In another frypan, heat the butter until just bubbling.
4. Plunge your slices of bread into the eggy mixture, letting them soak for a few moments. Add to the frypan of butter and cook on each side for 2-3 minutes or until golden. (Depending on the size of your frypan and the amount you’re serving, you may have to do this in batches.)
5. Place the toast on a plate, cover in the syrupy peaches and then garnish with fresh thyme and a drizzle of honey.

If you’re not a fan of fresh toast, I imagine these peaches would also work well with pancakes. To turn it into more of a dessert, I’d add the cooked peaches to little pastry tart shells and serve with vanilla bean ice-cream or marscarpone.

Have a wonderful week.

M. x