A simple breakfast meal given an even simpler twist!

French toast is a popular breakfast food in Japan, so much so that they’ve even made a spreadable version of it. Of course, we at SoraNews24 are also big fans of this sweet breakfast food, so whenever a new recipe comes out, we have to try it.

Today’s version is a simple recipe made with just three ingredients: bread, cooking sake, and vanilla ice cream. Now you’re probably wondering, “Where are the eggs?” since eggs are the crux of any French toast recipe; without them, your bread won’t get golden brown and fluffy. But don’t you worry; like the time we made Pudding French Toast, the eggs, along with milk and sugar, are hidden within the vanilla ice cream, so you’ve got everything you need already built in.

For our attempt, we used: shokupan, Japan’s version of breakfast bread; Meiji Essel Super Cup vanilla ice cream; and Hinode Cooking Sake (since we got the recipe off of Hinode’s official website). Apparently, the secret is using salted cooking sake like Hinode’s to add flavor, richness, and umami to the French toast.

The first step is to let the ice cream melt. With temperatures as they are in spring right now, ours was only about half-melted after an hour sitting at room temperature, but you don’t have to worry about fully melting it, as it will liquefy more when you whisk in the sake.

Next, empty the ice cream into a bowl and then add cooking sake. Our recipe called for 3 tablespoons for a 200-milliliter Essel Super Cup ice cream. Once it’s added, whisk the mixture until smooth, then soak the bread in it. We used a plastic sandwich bag so we wouldn’t have to clean an extra dish later, but you can use a bowl or a plate if you want. We let ours sit for about 10 minutes, and the bread soaked up the ice cream mixture nicely.

All that was left was to melt some butter in a pan and fry it!

The finished product honestly looked just like french toast made with eggs and milk. The difference was that this version made with ice cream was unbelievably soft, undoubtedly thanks to the ice cream.

This french toast also had a delectable aroma of vanilla, which made it feel like a dish made by a pro chef at a fancy bistro, and not something we made at home. The level of perfection of the flavor was out of this world. You can guarantee we’ll be making it again!

This would be a great way to use up day-old bread that’s gone a bit stale, or when you accidentally leave some ice cream on the counter and let it melt. Or just when you want to treat yourself to a delectable breakfast! It almost makes us wonder, though…how would the Bacon French Toast recipe we recently tried be different if we used vanilla ice cream instead of eggs and milk? Or the Castella French Toast recipe?

Hmm…Is anyone else hungry again?

Source: Hinode Mirin
Images © SoraNews24
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