Savoury French Toast Muffins
Yummy snack or cheesy lunchtime treat, either way, this recipe is deliciously comforting. Think savoury french toast with a cheesy ham centre and crispy cheese crumble on top. Sounds good right? The bonus to this recipe is that it can also save your stale bread from the bin. This savoury french toast recipe is a perfect way to revamp your stale bread into something incredible.
In this post:
Flavour inspirations
This recipe can be used as a base for many variations so it's really multiple recipes in one.
Chorizo and mozzarella— Use the ham and cheese French toast muffin recipe in just the same way just replace the ham with finely chopped chorizo and the cheddar with mozzarella— easy peasy
Cheese and chive— For this flavour inspiration, you can use this ham and cheese recipe in the same way but replace the cheddar in the egg mix with cream cheese and then replace the ham with a handful of chopped chives depending on how chive-y you want your French toast muffins. It's also up to you whether you want to remove the cheddar from the crumble or keep it in for this flavour combination.
Strawberry cheesecake—for a sweet alternative here's what you can do: remove the cheddar in the crumble topping and add 1 tsp of caster sugar. For the egg mix, replace all the spices with 2 tbsp of caster sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Replace the ham with chopped strawberries and cheddar with cream cheese. There you have it— a sweet take on the ham and cheese French toast muffins.
What bread should I use for French toast muffins?
I used tiger bread for my French toast muffins. This is mainly because I really love tiger bread, but it also absorbs a lot of the egg mix. You can use whichever bread you want but just keep in mind that each type of bread absorbs different amounts of the egg mix. For sweet versions of this recipe, I like to use brioche bread because it's delicious and pairs well with sweet ingredients.
Whichever bread you use, one helpful tip is to use stale bread because it better absorbs the egg mixture.
Can I make ham and cheese French toast muffins in advance?
Ham and cheese French toast muffins are best straight out the oven, but they can be frozen and reheated in the oven if you don't have time to make them when you need them.
Can I freeze ham and cheese French toast muffins?
Ham and cheese French toast muffins can be frozen in a pinch. They are definitely best when fresh but freezing is still a great way to keep them.
Place the French toast muffins in an airtight container and then they can be frozen for around a month or so. When you want to defrost them, let them come to room temperature for about 30 minutes and then bake at 200C/180C fan for 10-15 minutes or until they are piping hot in the middle.
Tackling food waste
Food waste is one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases and of that food waste, 70% of it comes from our homes. This is why it is so important that we all do our bit, no matter how big or small. Even if it is just saving a little bit of stale bread from the bin and this recipe does just that. Making savoury French toast muffins is a great way to salvage any stale bread that you may have otherwise thrown away.
Ham And Cheese French Toast Muffins (extended)
Prep time
20-25 minutes
+1 hours refrigeration
Cook time
25-30 minutes
Makes
6
For the cheese crumble
30g Salted butter
35g Plain flour
10g Mature cheddar, grated
Making the crumble topping
Rub together the butter, flour and cheese until you get a, mostly, breadcrumb texture crumble. It can be very lumpy but that it just fine, it creates extra texture to the French toast muffins. Set the crumble aside for now.
150ml Milk
3 Eggs
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
120g Bread, cut into cubes
3 Slices of cooked ham, chopped
40g Mature cheddar, finely grated
Making the french toast mixture
Whisk together the milk, eggs, salt, paprika and garlic powder until fully combined.
Assembling the muffins
Grease a muffin tray really well. I feel the best method for this is to brush the inside of the muffin tray with softened butter and then lightly dust with flour.
Half fill the 6 muffins holes with the cubed bread. Evenly distribute the ham between the 6 muffins and then distribute the cheese. Place the remaining bread on top of the 6 muffins—you may need to press the bread down to make it fit.
Slowly pour the egg mix over the muffins— again, you may need to press the bread down to allow it to fit. Sprinkle the crumble on top and then place in the fridge.
Refrigerate the muffins for at least 1 hour before baking.
Baking the muffins
Bake the muffins at 200C/180C fan for 25-30 minutes until golden and crispy on top. Serve fresh with some ketchup or hot sauce.
Did you make this recipe? I would love to see your baking masterpiece over social media or by email.
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