ELVIS FRENCH TOAST
To make this breakfast dish even more luxurious, you can top it off with a little powdered sugar, syrup, and even a little whipped cream—just like Elvis would have liked it.
Elvis French toast seemed like a fitting way to commemorate the King, even if it meant driving through Memphis without making a stop at Graceland. Girls Girls Girls and Blue Hawaii were shown on our family’s RCA black and white television on Sunday afternoons when my older sister had the remote control.
While some of you may be surprised that we skipped Graceland, I can’t wait to come back home, sleep in our own beds, and wake up to a freshly baked batch of peanut butter banana toast..
So I’ll end this road trip series by sharing the Elvis French Toast we enjoyed on the first Sunday we came home. Toward the end of the recipe, we’ve included some photos from the final leg of our journey. Elvis, here we come!
INGREDIENTS
- 4 strips of bacon (fried until crispy)
- 4 slices of Challah bread (1-inch thick)
- 2 eggs
- 2 ripe bananas
- 8 tablespoons of peanut butter
- ½ cup of milk
- ¼ cup of half and half
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
- maple syrup
- Whipped cream (optional)
- Powdered sugar (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Combine the milk, half-and-half, cinnamon, and eggs in a small bowl. Each challah slice should have a spoonful of peanut butter spread on one side.
- Bananas should be sliced into 1-inch-thick slices, then placed around the borders of two pieces of challah with a circle in the center. Place the remaining two slices of challah on top of each bread covered in banana slices, filling each small well with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter (peanut butter side down). Any leftover banana should be set aside to garnish the finished French toast.
- Make sure to coat the entire sandwich uniform by dipping the challah sandwiches into the egg mixture from both sides. For this dish, you want the bread to be thoroughly saturated with the egg and milk combination, but you also don’t want to let it sit too long. Otherwise, it will disintegrate, leaving you with a muddy mess.
- A cast-iron or nonstick pan set over medium heat should have one tablespoon of butter melted. Put the first sandwich in the pan with care. Maintaining the heat at medium or medium-high, make sure to brown the French toast on all sides, including the edges (this process takes about 5 minutes). Repeat these steps with the second sandwich after all sides have been browned.
- Return both pieces of toast to the skillet at low heat with a lid on for about three minutes after the second piece of toast is finished cooking. After turning, cook for a further 3 minutes covered. The French toast can bake in the skillet using this technique. Once fully cooked, the peanut butter becomes gooey and delicious. Nice thing.
- Half of each sandwich is made with French toast (this recipe serves four). Add maple syrup, crispy bacon, and the banana pieces you set aside earlier.
- Adding whipped cream and powdered sugar is optional.