Pumpkin French Toast
Serves 4
During those crisp months of Autumn I want pumpkin morning, noon and night. And yeah, the craving may even strike in June! This is a perfect way to use pureed pumpkin and pumpkin’s favorite spices - cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
Tip: These french toast recipes call for stale bread because it’s going to be soaking up custard, but you still want the bread to hold its shape. Fresh bread will get mushy and, worst case scenario, fall apart. A 3 day old loaf should be just fine and 5 days old might be too late (make it into breadcrumbs instead.) If you have only a fresh baguette, you can cut the slices and then put them in a 300 degree oven for about 10 minutes, until they are hardened a bit but not toasted. Then proceed with the recipe.
1 cup pureed pumpkin (from a can is just fine)
1 1/2 cups almond milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 stale Baguette, sliced diagonally in 1 inch pieces (see tip), or 8 pieces thick sliced bread
Cooking oil for the pan
Mix together all ingredients (except for the bread, obvioulsy). Spread out baguette slices on a rimmed baking pan in a single layer. Pour on pumpkin mixture and flip to coat. Let sit for 20 minutes, then flip over and soak for 10 minutes more.
Preaheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat (I use cast iron). Spray with cooking oil, or drizzle a little into the pan, and cook about half of the soaked breads at a time for 5 to 7 minutes on one side and about 3 minutes on the other. They should be golden to medium brown and flecked with darker spots. Keep warm on a plate covered with tin foil while you cook the second batch.
If not serving immediately, cover and place in a 200 degree oven for up to an hour. Serve with maple syrup and earth balance, of course.
May 17th, 2009 at 11:57 am
This sounds fabulous! I’m going to admit something. I’m an omnivore *gasp* but I love to incorporate plant-based meals into my diet. I also want all of your cookbooks, Isa. I think I might do some major purchasing this summer.
May 21st, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Yum! I love pumpkin and am always looking for new ways to use it! I bet this is fabulous!
May 31st, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I made this the other night! OMG soooooooooo delicious!
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:25 am
This looks so fabulous! Do you think this recipe would work if you (or I?) were to transfer the soaked bread onto a baking sheet, and bake all the slices together instead of cooking in a pan?
Vegan brunch rocks!
June 4th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I found out about your Vegan Brunch cookbook a few days ago (via another blog) and ordered it immediately on Amazon. And then I just found your blog! I’m a happy camper. I’ll be checking out what other great things you have on here. (And I’m really happy to see a preview of some of these amazing-looking recipes while my book is still in the mail. Yum!)
July 26th, 2009 at 11:13 am
I thought this was very tasty and the custard had a lovely consistency, but because it was so thick, it didn’t saturate the bread as well as I would have liked. My favorite french toast is soaked all the way through. I may thin it out a bit next time and see what happens. Still - very tasty and like most of Isa’s recipes, brilliant - I was amazed at how frenchtoastlike it was.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:00 am
I had the same issue with the thickness of the custard, but it’s still delicious! I’m vegan, but I made this for my omni husband and when my whole family came to town–they couldn’t get enough! I’ll be making this again tonight and trying to thin out the recipe. Also, while I’m here let me say–I just bought Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, and it’s totally taken over my world. Ah-mazing!
September 8th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
I love this! I am not a vegetarian, well i am trying..takin baby steps. My husband loved this the first time I made it and my 7 year old daughter (she is super picky). I have made it three times already! Instead of the baguette I used ww bread and didnt let it sit too long in the mixture but it came out great! I am now a fan and I ordered the Vegan Brunch just last night on my kindle! Thank you!
September 11th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I’m so glad that there’s such a thing as the internet. I am a New Yorker who moved to Denmark. Needless-to-say,vegetarianism isn’t much of a thing here,let alone veganism. I’m so happy that I can go on to websites like PPK and find incredible recipes like this one! My cooking skills have gone through the roof and I have been keeping my newly veg husband oh-so-happy.
I can not WAIT to make this recipe!! Unfortunately,I haven’t found canned pumpkin,so that just means I have to make it fresh. a little time consuming,but oh well. Pumpkins,here,can only be found seasonally,so that means I’ll have to make it mane times before the season is up. Somehow,I don’t think that my husband or I are going to be complaining about this.
October 21st, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Yummy, yum! I bet my kiddo will go crazy for these. I’ll be cooking them up this weekend.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:09 am
We made these yesterday, for Halloween! SOOOOO delicious! Served them with white bean tempeh sausage patties from Vegan with a Vengeance!!!! We all were so elated!! THANK YOU for all of your lovely recipes! Just purchased Veganomicon online tonight & can’t wait!