French Toast with Orange Rooibos Syrup
This recipe comes courtesy of Donna Kashola, owner of All Things Tea in Camarillo, and is adapted from A Touch of Rooibos (Rooibos Ltd., 2009). Rooibos tea has notes of honey and spice, which make it an ideal pairing with orange. The syrup also works well on pancakes and waffles.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 cup Orange Rooibos Syrup (recipe below)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 4–5 thick slices of day-old bread (white or wheat)
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
ORANGE ROOIBOS SYRUP
- 5 cups water
- 5 tablespoons rooibos tea
- ¼ cup orange blossom honey
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 (1-inch by 3-inch) piece orange peel
Instructions
- Add orange juice, orange zest and Orange Rooibos Syrup to a small, heavy-bottom saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until it thickens, about 20 minutes. Stir in butter, vanilla and salt. Set aside and keep warm.
- Whisk together eggs and buttermilk, and put in a shallow pan (a rectangular baking dish works well). Add bread and turn to coat both sides with the egg mixture. Leave bread to soak for a few minutes to absorb mixture.
- Heat a pan over medium heat, lightly coat with cooking oil spray. Fry bread until it’s golden brown on each side.
- To serve, top French toast with Orange Rooibos Syrup and a sprinkling of chopped walnuts.
ORANGE ROOIBOS SYRUP
- Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Over medium-high heat, stir until sugar and honey are dissolved. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, keeping the syrup at a boil. Stir occasionally until the syrup is reduced to 1½ cups, 45–60 minutes. Strain syrup with a wire-mesh strainer. It’s OK if some tea leaves remain in the syrup.
- The syrup can be made a day ahead.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Donna Kashola is the owner of All Things Tea in Camarillo.
