Receta French Toast with Toasted Walnut, Orange, Cranberry and Brown Sugar Compound Butter
Christmas seems to have come early for me this year. A ring of the bell, no one there but luckily I spy a package on the stoop. As I bent to retrieve the box and noticed it was from the Irish Dairy Board, I quickly looked up and down the street for Santa or even fairies; I knew what this was and it was a present…for ME!
It’s no secret I love Kerrygold. Long before I even knew they had butter, we had discovered Dubliner cheese and it’s nutty flavor means it’s not only a favorite to have on hand for snacking but it’s often our go to cheese in lieu of Parmesan, it’s that good. I even made some macaroni and cheese I dubbed ‘Golden Mac and Cheese’ in honor of how fabulous it is with Kerrygold Dubliner in it.
I grew up in a family that used margarine; I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that the first time I tried butter I was not a fan. Times have changed and now I’m not just a fan but I’m picky about butter…it’s all Kerrygold’s fault. Try these Brown Butter Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies and you’ll see why. I blame the butter.
So back to the box. Inside a cooled container were tubs of new Kerrygold products; their Naturally Softer and Reduced Fat Butters. Though their regular butter is considered perfect for baking; I recently had some that was softened sitting on my counter and I spread it on my morning toast. I even tweeted about how good it was. Oh my gosh…do you think they created these products just for me? Shh…don’t burst my bubble; I am going to presume that’s exactly how it went down (forget that just happened two weeks ago…they have fairies, they work FAST!).
I am one of several bloggers that have been invited to compete in a contest using these new products, developed more specifically for use other than baking so I thought developing a compound butter would be fun. I don’t do a lot of these things. I consider myself a creative cook but not a recipe developer. I don’t sit and plan and put together ingredients; I just do. And so I hoped I wouldn’t be sorry that I accepted this challenge.
Luckily I found my inspiration from a cocktail. That’s right…I was using cranberries to create a new cocktail and it hit me how appropriate it would be to combine both the butter and the berries I love. And I mean LOVE. After years of that canned mess; from the first recipe I ever made using fresh berries I’ve been hooked. My first thoughts went to cranberries and maple syrup but I’ve done that before with cranberry sauce and wanted something a bit more unique. Orange? Sort of typical with cranberries but that’s because it is so good and I thought the zest would be pretty with the candied berries I was now planning to use. But it’s the walnuts that put this over the top.
The wheels kept churning and through just a bit of trial and error I have something I love. I mean, could sit and eat it with a spoon type love. After covering the finished product, it was back in the fridge to cool and I had some time to think how best to serve it. Truth is, this butter would be good on a cracker but I wanted something more. And that something more became French toast. Another sort of ‘just do’ moment in that I had half a loaf of French bread leftover from last night’s dinner. I could count on one hand how often I’ve actually had French bread for French toast so it sort of called to me; all I had to do was answer!
Perfect as is but in our family French toast without maple syrup just does not happen so I took the dish one step further and made some cranberry compote with a touch of maple syrup. Why have I never done this before??
This would be a perfect breakfast dish for a holiday gathering but in the meantime? I’m calling it dinner!
French Toast with Toasted Walnut, Orange, Cranberry and Brown Sugar Compound Butter
Fabulous holiday breakfast. French Toast with walnut, cranberry and orange zest compound butter finished with a cranberry compote.
Ingredients
- For the Butter:
- 4 oz (1/2 tub) of Kerrygold Naturally Softer Pure Irish Butter
- 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 3-4 Tbsp of minced fresh cranberries
- For the Cranberry Compote:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- Preparation
- To Make the Butter:
- Combine the Kerrygold butter, toasted walnuts, brown sugar and 1 tsp of orange zest in a food processor
- Process until smooth.
- Remove butter from processor and fold in minced cranberries
- Divide into (2) 4 oz containers; garnish with additional zest and a fresh cranberry
- Chill until firm
- To Make the Cranberry Compote:
Combine water, syrup and sugar in medium saucepan and heat on medium until sugar is dissolved.
Add cranberries and cook on medium until they pop; approximately 3-4 minutes. Cool.
Reserve 2 Tbsp of whole berries
Combine remainder of berries and syrup in processor and process to desire consistency.
Place French toast on plate, add a dollop of butter and finish with some cranberry compote
Notes
Use your favorite French Toast recipe; this is all about the butter!
Mine is simply a mixture of 2 eggs, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 Tbsp maple syrup; beat well with a whisk, soak both sides of your bread in the egg mixture and fry in a small amount of butter. Makes 4 slices.
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http://www.creative-culinary.com/2011/10/french-toast-with-toasted-walnut-orange-cranberry-and-brown-sugar-compound-butter/
This recipe brought to you by © Creative Culinary | A Food and Cocktail Blog | Website: www.creative-culinary.com
I received these butters at no cost from Kerrygold. All recipes and commentary are mine.