Ambrosia French Toast with Blueberry-Orange Relish (Dairy-Free)
Even though I’m snuggling with my new little pink bundle I won’t leave you hanging! Here’s a great dairy-free variation on French toast I made a few months ago. I’m all about using coconut milk in place of regular milk when I can. And I love the orange-coconut combination!
I was raised by a Southern woman, but somehow missed out on the orange-coconut “ambrosia” combination common in Southern desserts. I don’t think my dad likes coconut. He’s a chocolate man, so we had plenty of that around. (No complaints here. I never got tired our family chocolate cake. It’s still my absolute favorite!)
I love blueberries with citrus as well as coconut, so I figured all three would be good together. We’re always looking for alternative, healthier toppings on French toast (and pancakes and waffles) besides syrup, and this blueberry-orange relish was perfect. If you have time to toast the coconut, please do. It adds such a nice crunch!
Ambrosia French Toast with Orange-Blueberry Relish
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the French toast:
4 eggs
1/2 cup coconut milk
zest from 2 oranges, divided
juice from 1 large orange (about 1/3 cup)
1 T honey
pinch of salt
butter or heat-safe oil, for cooking
8 smallish slices of whole-grain bread (or 4-5 large slices)For the relish:
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) blueberries
1 orange, surpremed (or peeled and sliced into chunks)
1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted, plus more for garnishHoney, for drizzling (optional)
Directions:
In a shallow dish (pie plates work well) whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, orange zest (reserving 1/2 tsp for relish), orange juice, honey, and a pinch of salt.
Combine the relish ingredients in a separate bowl with the reserved 1/2 tsp orange zest. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes while you cook the French toast.
Brush some butter or oil in a non-stick pan and heat it up to medium heat.
Working in batches, soak the bread slices in the egg mixture for 1-2 minutes. (Longer if the bread is dense.) Lay them in the hot skillet and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
Serve French toast with relish, a sprinkle of coconut, and a drizzle of honey (if desired).
Nat's Notes:
To toast coconut, place coconut in a dry skillet and cook over medium-high heat, tossing frequently until golden brown in spots. You can also toast it in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes, but keep an eye on it because it burns fast!from Perry's Plate
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Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar — June 11, 2012 @ 4:17 am
This sounds so tasty! What a great twist on regular french toast :)
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Blog is the New Black — June 11, 2012 @ 5:46 am
I adore french toast, but this looks exceptionally delish!
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Valerie at The Year of Living Healthfully — June 11, 2012 @ 6:11 am
I never thought of substituting coconut milk for regular milk. Great idea! Are there particular situations where you know for sure it doesn’t work to substitute?
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Julia {The Roasted Root} — June 11, 2012 @ 8:08 am
Baby needs French toast too, right? ;) I’ve put coconut milk in just about everything and just when I thought I ran out of coconut milk ideas, here you are wowing me with an amazing French toast recipe. I love it!
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Redd H from Salted Spoon — June 11, 2012 @ 11:04 am
I lived in the South for a long time too and remember first trying “Ambrosia”. I was always confused because to me, the only ambrosia was Ambrosia Devon Custard, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why anyone would put that with oranges (though it goes great with bananas: http://saltedspoon.blogspot.com/2012/06/banana-brownie-custard-cups.html).
I love the idea of this topping for french toast, I bet it’s all gooey and delicious at the same time. I’ll be sure to try it out!
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Joanne — June 11, 2012 @ 12:21 pm
This is some seriously loaded French toast! Perfect for breakfast-in-bed for new mommas…just saying.
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Andrea @ The Skinny Chronicles — June 11, 2012 @ 2:04 pm
Uh, this recipe is making my stomach growl. No joke. Please fed-x me a batch overnight stat. De-lish.
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Cara — June 11, 2012 @ 3:34 pm
This was perfect timing, because somehow ambrosia came up in conversation the other day and Ben and I both realized we didn’t know what it meant. What a yummy sounding breakfast!
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Kathryn — June 12, 2012 @ 4:58 pm
Yay! thank you for posting a recipe that uses two things I have in abundance right now: blueberries and oranges :) I’m making it tomorrow!
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Kathryn — June 12, 2012 @ 4:59 pm
that bread looks amazing, by the way. Did you make it yourself?
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Rachel Cooks — June 13, 2012 @ 5:33 am
This looks great, and that bread looks phenomenal!
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Erin @ Texanerin Baking — June 13, 2012 @ 10:40 am
I had never heard of ambrosia anything (other than food of the Greek gods) until now and I’m from the South! How strange. Orange and coconut, that’s something I’ve never paired together. This looks absolutely amazing and that picture of the bread?! Yummy.
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inessa — July 20, 2012 @ 10:16 am
looks just yummy!
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