French Toast Fingers with Mascarpone Cream and Honeyed Berries

Update an old favourite with our French Toast Fingers. With a crunchy cinnamon and sugar crust on the outside, and a pillowy soft inside, they are fabulous served with Mascarpone Cream and naturally sweet Honeyed Berries. While white bread is the traditional choice for French Toast, you can also try breads that contain fruits and nuts for a new flavour profile.
How long will it take?
30 minutes
What’s the serving size?
Serves 6
What do I need?
For the Honeyed Berries
1 tbsp pouring honey
Finely grated zest and juice of half a lemon
500g assorted berries of your choice - raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, chopped strawberries
For the Mascarpone Cream
½ cup thickened cream
2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
¼ cup mascarpone
¼ tsp vanilla extract
For the French Toast Fingers
1 loaf of unsliced bread cut into 4cm thick slices
1 ½ cups milk
6 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
¾ cup caster sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp unsalted butter
How do I make it?
Whisk honey, lemon juice and zest together in a large bowl and add the berries. Toss gently to coat and set aside.
To make Mascarpone Cream, beat thickened cream and icing sugar together until stiff peaks stage. Add the mascarpone and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.
Whisk milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut each slice of bread into long batons. Add 1/3 of the bread to the milk mix and leave to soak for 2 minutes.
Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Working in batches, remove bread from the bowl and allow any excess liquid to drain off. Add to frying pan and cook until golden, turning to cook all sides.
Place cooked fingers into the sugar and cinnamon mix, turning to coat on all sides.
Repeat for remaining fingers, adding extra butter to the frying pan if needed.
Place French Toast Fingers on a serving platter, dollop with Mascarpone Cream and scatter with honeyed berries. Serve warm.