Cinnamon French Toast

Jose and I celebrated Valentine's Day on the evening of the 13th this year (we're both not fans of crowds, so we decided to go out after work on Wednesday instead). We thought it'd be a sweet idea to pay Chez-Zee a visit (it's the restaurant where our tiny wedding dinner took place a few months ago). At the end of our meal, we ordered two tasty desserts, one of them being the award-winning Creme Brulee French Toast. It certainly lived up to its reputation, with its crispy edges and heavenly, sweet center.

Until today, I haven't been able to whip up the perfect batch of french toast. What resulted from my former french-toast making endeavors was usually some kind of soggy piece of bread with an overly-eggy coat, burned exterior, and gag-inducing taste. Somehow, the Creme Brulee French Toast gave me a tad bit of inspiration. As I studied the flavor and texture of the delectable dessert, the following reasons for my french toast failures occurred to me: There was obviously not enough spice in the egg concoction!; I used too much of the wrong kind of dairy; I should've cooked the toast over a much lower flame, for a longer period of time!

So these are the new ingredients that I added to today's successful french toast recipe!:
(this makes enough for about 3-4 slices of bread)
1/4 cup sweet condensed milk
1 1/2 tbsp softened butter
3 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp brown sugar
a pinch of salt
(I used 4 slices of honey oatmeal bread)

I cooked the french toast over a low flame for about 4 minutes on each side. This time, I covered it with a clear lid as it cooked. Using the lid and lower flame allowed the inside of the french toast to cook evenly before the exterior could brown. The sweet condensed milk is a great alternative to cream when it isn't available. As far as spices go, you can add what you like, but I looove cinnamon, brown sugar also adds a nice touch :). French toast is a breakfast treat that requires a little more patience than pancakes, I discovered, but it's definitely worth the wait. This particular recipe creates crispy and tender pieces of lightly sweetened french toast that are delicious, even without maple syrup...but, if you're ever in Austin, you should try Chez-Zee's Creme Brulee French Toast, it's truly the best :).