Hazelnut Crusted French Toast -

Take your breakfast game over the top with this gluten-free Hazelnut Crusted French Toast recipe featuring juicy fresh blackberries and blueberries, whipped cream, and the ultimate custardy french toast.

French toast should be a celebratory dish if you ask me. It’s the perfect breakfast or brunch treat to really go all out with toppings and pizazz. This hazelnut crusted version of French toast does not skimp on flavor, texture or wow factor. Each piece of fluffy toast is crusted with crushed hazelnuts for a rich, crunchy and an all together decadent dish.

How to Make Hazelnut Crusted French Toast

This dish is a bit more involved than your average French toast recipe, but it’s well worth the extra effort. Start by crushing your hazelnuts in a food processor until you have a coarse texture. You don’t want powder so you can add some crunch to the French toast. You can also do this by placing the nuts in a zip-top bag and using a heavy pot to crush them.

The soaking mixture for your French toast infuses each piece of bread with sweet, cinnamon-spiced flavor and adds a rich, custardy texture. The gluten-free flour in the soaking mixture thickens up the custard and helps the crushed hazelnut crust better adhere to the bread as it cooks.

When cooking your French toast, note that the bread may be softer in the center than you expect. This recipe makes super moist and fluffy French toast that’s doughy in the center and crisp on the outside.

Hazelnut Crusted French Toast

Yield: 8 slic

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes 16 seconds

Total Time: 33 minutes 16 seconds

This fun twist on french toast is crusted with hazelnuts and topped with blueberries, blackberries and whipped cream. This recipe incorporates a small amount of flour into the batter for a custardy center that makes this french toast stand up well above others.

Ingredients

2 cup hazelnuts
½ cup blueberries
½ cup blackberries
2 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon maple syrup, plus more for serving
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
2 tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour
Pinch of sea salt
8 slices bread, sliced 1-inch thick
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup whipped cream
¼ cup powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions

Place the hazelnuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Place ¾ of the chopped hazelnuts into a shallow baking dish and reserve the remaining ¼ for garnish.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, flour, and sea salt until smooth and lump-free.
Quickly soak each slice of bread on both sides in the batter and dredge in the chopped hazelnuts, evenly coating each side.
Melt the butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Cook the french toast for about 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through. The toast will have a custardy center, so expect it to be slightly more wet inside than traditional french toast. Repeat with all of the slices of bread.
Transfer cooked french toast to a serving dish. Top with fresh blueberries, blackberries, remaining hazelnuts, maple syrup, whipped cream, and powdered sugar (optional).

Serving Suggestions

I love the pairing of seasonal berries and hazelnuts. Blackberries and blueberries have a sweet-tart flavor combination that plates perfectly in this decadent french toast. If berries are out of season, you could also use juicy sliced figs, peaches, or cherries.

The other sweet toppings for this decadent breakfast are whipped cream and an elegant dusting of powdered sugar. All together, this makes a stunning presentation that’s almost too beautiful to eat.