Panettone Eggnog French Toast w/Rum Infused Syrup

As Christmas approaches, limited time seasonal delights can be found in all your local markets, shops, and grocery stores. Personally, I relish this time of year and eagerly await the chance to indulge in the once-a-year treats.

Two such treats are eggnog, an essential Christmastime staple, and panettone, a sweet Italian holiday bread. Naturally, I decided that I had to combine these favourites into a decadent breakfast that tastes like Christmas spirit in every bite. This dish is a great twist on the classic French toast and its perfect for a holiday breakfast or brunch.

Panettone classically comes in a large cake-shape loaf baked with raisins and dried citrus peels. However, many varieties are widely available these days and for the purposes of French toast it’s best to get one that is plain, simply the bread itself. Failing that, a vanilla flavoured one will do just as well.

Since we’re using eggnog here, I felt a rum infused syrup would better serve these purposes than any typical syrups as rum is the classic paring for eggnog. It’s super simple to make yourself and really takes this French toast to the next level.

This was so good and I can’t recommend it enough!

Ingredients

For the French toast you will need:

1 whole plain panettone

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups of eggnog

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

Salted butter for cooking

(NOTE: If you’re still not sold on the panettone, a brioche bread may be substituted for this recipe)

For the syrup you will need:

1 cup water

1 cup granulated white sugar

1/3 cup of dark rum

Method

Rum syrup:

1. In a small saucepan combine water and sugar, cooking on high heat until it comes to a boil.
2. Once the mixture starts to boil stir in the dark rum and let cook for about 1 minute to make sure the alcohol completely cooks off.
3. Turn heat down to low and let mixture simmer for about ten minutes to allow it to thicken, routinely stirring it over the course of these ten minutes to ensure it doesn’t set.
4. Cover and remove from heat, setting it aside while you prepare the French toast. It will thicken more as it cools so don’t worry if it still seems a little thin.

French toast:

1. Slice the panettone into roughly equal sized pieces about 1 inch thick.
2. In a large bowl, thoroughly beat eggs until smooth and consistent. Then add in eggnog, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, whisking well to fully combine all ingredients.
3. Preheat a large skillet to medium heat and melt a chunk of butter in it so the French toast won’t stick while cooking.
4. Bathe the panettone slices in the egg mixture one at a time, making sure to turn and thoroughly coat both sides.
5. Place into preheated skillet and let each piece cook for several minutes. Once the bottom of the piece starts to turn golden brown, flip it and cook the same on the other side.
6. Plate your cooked slices and season with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar if you wish, then add a generous pour of rum syrup and enjoy!