Bananas Foster French Toast with Pecans and Walnuts (Inspired by The Duck and Bunny)
Fluffy. Warm. Indulgent. Decadent. Bananas Foster French Toast.
I’m usually not a big french toast person, but this is seriously one of my favorite breakfast items of all time. The first time I had this was in a little brunch snuggery called The Duck and Bunny in my college town of Providence, RI. This quaint little tea room and crêperie had some of the best breakfast/brunch foods, but I always made sure to order the Bananas Foster French Toast every time I returned, including the morning after my wedding! Since it’s May (how is it already May again?!) I thought we’d try to recreate this delectable French Toast dish in honor of my 5-year graduation from college and 3-year wedding anniversary (which are both in May)!
Side note: I just read that The Duck and Bunny is temporarily closed because the building was torn down and are currently raising money for their new location. Please support them if they open again! You will not be sorry!
Let’s talk about the different components that makes this excellent french toast smothered in a rich caramelized banana sauce.
The bread
My favorite bread to use for french toast is stale challah. Challah is already eggy and rich, and not too sweet, which makes the bananas foster topping perfect for this recipe. I highly recommend using day-old challah as the drier bread will pick up more of the custard, making it more fluffy than you can possibly imagine.
The custard
In order to make the bread into french toast, dip the slices of bread into a custard. The custard consists of: milk or cream, cinnamon, eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar (although we will be skipping the sugar for this recipe).
The bananas
Bananas! They’re easy to eat, clean, naturally sweet, and delicious! Try to use bananas that have just ripened instead of overripe bananas so they hold their shape better when cooked in the sauce.
You’re now ready to make french toast! I hope that as the rich and creamy sauce coats the fluffy, custardy bread, you will also add this recipe to your list of favorite breakfast foods.
How to make Bananas Foster French Toast
Start by slicing challah bread into ¾ in thick slices. Leave out overnight uncovered to make it more stale so that it can absorb the maximum amount of french toast custard. Optional, but highly recommended.
The next day, we’ll make the custard! In a large mixing bowl, mix together eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and heavy cream and milk. Whisk well — you don’t want any pieces of scrambled egg on your french toast!
Pour the custard mixture into a shallow dish for easy dunking. I used a pie pan 🙂 Dunk bread into the custard in the dish and let sit for 45 seconds on each side.
Heat up a non-stick pan on medium and rub a stick of cold butter on the bottom of the pan, coating it evenly. Place custardy bread into the pan and let cook for 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Optionally, if you are making french toast for a large group, place french toast in an oven preheated to 250°F to keep warm while you make the sauce. If you are a multitasker like me, you can make the sauce while making the french toast.
To make the bananas foster sauce, the star of the show…
Place refrigerated butter on a cold non-stick pan and turn the heat to medium low. Once the butter is melted, turn up the heat to medium to medium high and cook until you see foam.
Add in the brown sugar and walnuts and pecans into the pan and continue cooking for 1 minute at medium-high.
Add in the heavy cream into the hot pan and watch it bubble and sizzle. Once the bubbling has calmed down, add in the sliced bananas and immediately turn the heat down low. Toss the bananas in the sauce until every banana slice is coated.
Serve sauce on top of warmed french toast. Add in a healthy sprinkling of powdered sugar for the ~aesthetic~. Inhale immediately.
Bananas Foster French Toast Recipe
Equipment
- 2 non-stick pans
- Rubber spatula
- Whisk
- mixing bowl
- shallow dish
- knife and cutting board
Ingredients
French Toast
- 8 ¾ in slices of stale challah bread
- 2 eggs
- ½ c heavy whipping cream (optional, substitute whole milk if no heavy cream)
- ½ c whole milk
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- butter for cooking as needed
Banana Foster Sauce
- 3 bananas sliced
- ¼ c butter half stick
- ⅓ c light brown sugar
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- ¼ c pecans and walnuts optional
- 1 tsp powdered sugar optional
Instructions
French Toast
- Start by slicing challah bread into ¾ in thick slices. Leave out overnight uncovered to make it more stale so that it can absorb the maximum amount of french toast custard. Optional, but highly recommended.
- The next day, we'll make the custard! In a large mixing bowl, mix together eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and heavy cream and milk. Whisk well — you don't want any pieces of scrambled egg on your french toast!
- Pour the custard mixture into a shallow dish for easy dunking. I used a pie pan 🙂 Dunk bread into the custard in the dish and let sit for 45 seconds on each side.
- Heat up a non-stick pan on medium and rub a stick of cold butter on the bottom of the pan, coating it evenly. Place custardy bread into the pan and let cook for 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
- Optional: If you are making french toast for a large group, place french toast in an oven preheated to 250°F to keep warm while you make the sauce. If you are a multitasker like me, you can make the sauce while making the french toast.
Banana Foster Sauce
- Place refrigerated butter on a cold non-stick pan and turn the heat to medium low. Once the butter is melted, turn up the heat to medium to medium high and cook until you see foam.
- Add in the brown sugar and walnuts and pecans into the pan and continue cooking for 1 minute at medium-high.
- Add in the heavy cream into the hot pan and watch it bubble and sizzle.
- Once the bubbling has calmed down, add in the sliced bananas and immediately turn the heat down low. Toss the bananas in the sauce until every banana slice is coated. Serve sauce on top of warmed french toast. Add in a healthy sprinkling of powdered sugar for the ~aesthetic~. Inhale immediately.
How do you make the challah bread?
This is so yummy! I love this banana foster french toast-I like the sweet, tangy taste of the bananas and the sticky sauce dripping over the soft, cinnamon challah bread. This is my favorite type of bread, and I like everything about it!