Tropical Vegan French Toast with Mango & Pineapple
Tropical Vegan French Toast is a dazzling plateful of happy breakfast food. Stacks of yellow & golden fried bread, flavoured with mango & coconut come topped with griddled pineapple, coconut, strawberries and syrup. This fruity and colourful breakfast recipe is an incredibly cheerful way to start your day.
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 6 Thick slices day-old robust vegan white bread - DO NOT use regular white sliced sandwich bread - it will be soggy and stick to your pan (see notes)
- 150 g Fresh mango (peeled and removed from stone)
- 150 ml Vita Coco Coconut Milk Alternative
- 1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon Ground allspice (optional/ to taste - I used ¼ tsp))
- 5 slices Fresh pineapple
- 6 Strawberries - quartered
- 1 teaspoon Dessicated coconut/ coconut flakes
- Maple syrup - to taste
- Coconut Oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 120C/ 250F/ GM ½
- Begin by preparing the pineapple - if using a whole fresh pineapple slice off the spiky end, then cut into ¾ cm rounds. Remove the skin and the hard centre of each slice. I find the easiest way to do this is to use circular cookie cutters - use a small one to remove the tough centre and a larger one to separate the flesh from the skin (see my photo above)
- Put 1 teaspoon coconut oil into the frying/ griddle pan. Melt over a medium-high heat then add the pineapple in a single layer (cook in batches if necessary). Let cook for 2-3 minutes each side until it turns golden. Turn onto a plate and keep warm in the oven
- Put the fresh mango, allspice, vanilla extract and coconut milk into a jug or bowl and blitz with a stick blender until smooth. Pour the batter into a shallow bowl
- Place the bread into the bowl and allow to sit for 1 minute. Flip over and allow to sit in the batter again for 1 more minute (you may need to do this in several batches)
- Return the pan to the heat, add 2 teaspoon coconut oil then carefully place the soaked bread into the pan. Do not overcrowd the pan - cook in batches. Let cook for around 3 minutes, completely UNDISTURBED (see notes). By this stage the batter should have taken on a golden colour and be crisping up. Carefully flip and let the second side cook for around 3 minutes too. Once cooked, transfer to another plate and keep warm in the oven while you cook any remaining toast, adding more coconut oil as necessary
- Assemble the plates - put 1 round of toast onto each plate and top with a ring of pineapple. Add another slice of toast and another slice of pineapple. Add a third piece of toast to each plate. Chop the remaining pineapple ring and divide between the plates, along with the strawberries. Scatter the coconut over the fruit
- Serve immediately, with a jug of maple syrup
Notes
It is essential to use robust, sturdy, thick white bread - I used a poppyseed white bloomer, but ciabatta, sourdough or a wide baguette would work. Whatever you do, DO NOT resort to using thin, floppy regular sandwich bread - the result will be a mushy mess in your pan (I know because I used such bread on my first test of this recipe). Use the best pan you have to cook it - I recommend a non stick pan that you know performs well. Also, ensure you allow the bread to cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes on each side to allow the batter to cook and stay attached to the bread. Constantly poking or moving the bread as it cooks will result in a mess. Once one side is cooked to golden brown flip carefully.