KRAMER VS KRAMER: french toast

Lights, camera, breakfast: recreating morning morsels from the screen

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Hello fellow food and film fanatics! Welcome to our series ‘The Breakfast Club’, where we recreate morning munchies from cinema so you can break-your-fast along with your favourite characters. In this episode, we're celebrating fatherhood by cracking some eggs along with Dustin Hoffman and whipping up the infamous French Toast from KRAMER VS KRAMER.

This movie is ultimate Bite Club fodder, not only do we see a dish being celebrated (wonderful) cooked front and centre (excellent) it's also used to symbolise character transformation during the story (dreamy). We first see Ted Kramer preparing his son breakfast at the start of the movie. His wife has just left, and the self centred career man is clearly out of his depth, trying to take on the role of primary caregiver. Then, at the end, we see a confident French Toast chef and father, at ease in the role, having built a solid relationship with his son.

The contrast between the two cooking scenes that bookend the movie demonstrate the development of Ted as a man and as a father, from career man to family man, and the evolution of his relationship with his son from combative to symbiotic. And people say it's just eggy bread...

We're going to take a little creative licence and go for a slightly more elevated version, using rich and fluffy brioche, with some fancy pants toppings. We love to use brioche, because it is an enriched dough which means that it is rich and tender, with a slight sweetness, perfect for French Toast. *It's preferable if the bread is slightly stale, that way it soaks up all the eggy goodness like a sponge, and, it doesn't fall apart. This recipe is a great way to use up leftover stale bread.

You can crown your French Toast with any toppings you like (bacon and maple syrup is another favourite over here!) but today, in the name of learning how to be a grown up like Dustin, we've gone for a luxurious lick of orange mascarpone cream, topped with a sophisticated berry compote.

French Toast is a crowd pleaser for every generation, so grab a kid (preferably your own) and whip up this moorish brekkie treat together. For more hints, tips and dad jokes, be sure to check out our video here.

Until next time...

SKIP TO RECIPE

TOPPINGS

FRENCH TOAST

Features at 13 minutes & at 1 hour, 38 minutes of Kramer vs Kramer

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

3 medium eggs
2 tbsps milk
2 tbsps double cream
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 thick slices brioche loaf *
Butter for frying

TO SERVE

Berry compote - recipe here
Mascarpone cream - recipe here
Dusting of icing sugar

METHOD

Take a shallow bowl that's large enough to soak your bread slices in.

Crack in the eggs, milk, double cream, cinnamon and vanilla. Whisk until combined.

Coat both sides of the brioche slices in the egg mixture nb: soak the bread a slice at a time right before it goes into the frying pan, don't pre soak!

Cook in a large frying pan on a medium heat, with a knob of butter for 3-4 mins until golden brown. nb: Once it’s in the pan, leave it alone, we want this to form a lovely golden crust, so avoid moving it around.

Flip over to the other side for 2-3 mins, until golden brown on the other side.

Serve warm with a slathering of mascarpone cream and a quick berry compote.

TOPPINGS

BERRY COMPOTE INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

300g of frozen mixed berries
1/2 a large orange (zest + juice)
2 tbsp sugar

METHOD

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer on a medium high heat.

Reduce to a medium heat, and simmer the berries for 10 - 15 minutes, until the fruit breaks down, the liquid reduces, and and you have a loose, jammy consistency.

Serve on top of the french toast with a dollop of mascarpone cream.

MASCARPONE CREAM INGREDIENTS (serves 2)