Brioche French Toast sticks with Rum Raisin Syrup

Jun 25

Jun 25 Brioche French Toast sticks with Rum Raisin Syrup

Rum Raisin Syrup becomes an irrEsistable dipping sauce

On a recent trip to Turks and Caicos my parents called to rave about their beachside dessert at Da Conch Shack - ice cream with drunken raisins. I was home and decided to work on my take of this dessert - rum raisin syrup with brioche french toast sticks - and a new favorite dessert/brunch/sweet treat was discovered.

More often then I'd like to admit, I have a concept of how I want to stage and photograph food and it doesn't turn out like I had envisioned - this is one of the cases where it took a few attempts to capture what I wanted. Lucky for me, these multiple attempts just meant more rum raisin syrup and french toast :)

Round one, it just didn't jump off the page in equal proportion to the flavors so I tried again;
Round two, the photos were good but not great and still not what I was aiming for; (see bottom picture for a round two photo).
Round three - finally nailed it! The picture above is bright and pops off the page.

If you make nothing else from this blog- give this a go! It is really easy and doesn't disappoint!! The super simple 4 ingredient Rum Raisin Syrup is also fantastic served warm and generously poured over vanilla ice cream - Turks and Caicos style.

To Make Rum Raisin Syrup

1/4 cup raisins
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons coconut milk
1 1/2 ounces dark rum

To Make Brioche French Toast Sticks (serves two - or one carried away photographer) :)

4 thick slices of Brioche bread - cut into thirds
2 eggs
6 tablespoons coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon avocado oil (olive oil is fine, I just prefer the higher smoke point of avocado oil)

Additional Serving suggestions

lots of powdered sugar to dust finished french toast
fresh tropical fruit to jazz up the plate with some bright colors - I like strawberries and pineapple

Rum Raisin Syrup - Warm a small sauce pan on low heat and add raisins, dark brown sugar, and coconut milk. Let cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, and watching to make sure it doesn't burn. Mine usually starts to bubble around minute 7 and that is fine, just make sure to stir. Remove from the heat and gently stir in rum, then return to low heat and cook for an additional 2 -3 minutes stirring occasionally - then ready to serve.*

French Toast Sticks - In a medium bowl, make batter by whisking together eggs, coconut milk, nutmeg, and vanilla. Warm a large skillet over medium/low heat with avacado oil on the pan to reduce sticking. Once warm, working in batches, dip the bread sticks into the egg batter and let excess batter drip off. Cook french toast in the skillet flipping once the underside lighlty browns and cook until the second side browns slightly. If the french toast is really thick, you may want to briefly toast on the sides as well. Remove from skillet and repeat with additional batches as necessary.

For serving, dust cooked french toast sticks with plenty of powdered sugar. Serve with rum raisin syrup on the side and fruit, if desired.

*Be sure to reheat slowly on the stove and keep an eye on it as rum is flammable