Doughnut French Toast by Nigella Lawson
Midnight munchies.
Has there been any research into whether midnight owl syndrome is genetically hereditary? It seems that everyone in my family, with the exception of my dear father, are at their most active when the sun has set and clock hands are hitting the 12.
There use to be all 6 girls living under one roof. Imagine this… One sister has gone downstairs to make herself a sandwich, she opens the fridge and another one hears the gush of the door. She also heads downstairs and starts cooking some instant noodles. Another sister is on her way to the bathroom and the scent of the instant noodles is dancing in the air, she heads downstairs and re-heats last nights dinner. Another sister hears the beeping of the microwave and decides to have breakfast for supper, so she fries up some eggs and bacon. I wonder what all the murmuring is about and head downstairs to find the kitchen in full swing, I pop some bread slices in the toaster and slather it with jam. Bunnifar creeps into the kitchen.
“What are you guys doing?”
“Whaddya think we’re doing?”
“Ooh, can one of you make something for me?”
“Make it yourself!” We all say at the same time.
“Oh please, I’ll either burn my hand or burn the kitchen down.”
“Whaddya want?”
“Dunno…”
“BE QUIET!” My father yells from his bedroom.
It’s a bad case of the midnight munchies.
I recall watching some current affairs story not too long ago about eating before going to bed. They did an experiment with three people. One went to bed hungry, one on a full stomach and the other person had a small snack. It turned out the people that went to bed on a empty and full stomach had the most restless sleep and the one who had a snack had a peaceful sleep. First of all, I am not one to watch these sorts of programs. They are designed to perpetuate fear into mediocre minds. I only happened to watch this because it was on soon after one of my favourite TV shows, Antique Roadshow. Secondly, I was surprised with the outcome of their minor experiment, I was mostly expecting a scathing attack. It did nothing to prevent me from having second thoughts about my midnight shenanigans in our overworked kitchen.
In the midst of making and eating these delicious Doughnut French Toasts, I decided that they would make a wonderful midnight snack. They create few dishes and most of the ingredients are pantry staples.
So tell me, do you have the attack of the midnight munchies? If so, what is your favourite midnight snack?
Recipe adapted from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson
Ingredients
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup full cream milk
4 thick slices of white bread
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup caster sugar
Instructions
1/ Beat the eggs with the milk and vanilla in a wide, shallow bowl.
2/ Soak the bread in the eggy mixture for 2 minutes.
3/ Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan, and fry the egg-soaked bread until golden and scorched in parts on both sides.
4/ Put the sugar on a plate and then dip the cooked bread in it until coated like a sugared doughnut.
Tips from cookbookmaniac.com
* These doughnut french toasts are fabulous when you have the attack of the midnight munchies!
* Although these are marvelous on their own, any fruit that you have in your kitchen goes well with them.
* If you do not have caster sugar, do not fear. Using plain old sugar is fine.
* I heart pomegranates!
21 comments on “Doughnut French Toast by Nigella Lawson”
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these look great but woah on the sugar overload !
i always get the midnight munchies i just eat a few spoons of rice and go back to bed but its true i do get restless nights sleep if i have ate too much before bedtime or if i go to be dhungry so i almost always never go to bed hungry!
Absolutely gorgeous french toast!
I am so a midnight muncher. I just like putting food in my mouth even when I’m not hungry. I don’t put a lot of effort into making snacks so I munch on chips, biscuits or breakfast cereal.
Yen! Breakfast cereal is a great midnight munchie! hooray for crunchie nuts!
I try my best not to eat if it looks like I should actually already be asleep in bed. I know what you mean though! Once one person is clankering around in the kitchen it seems to bring everyone else in, not just around midnight. It also happens when there’s a smell wafting out of the kitchen.
wow.. this is so yummylicious! I like your presentation, it looks like it’s served in a cozy bed and breakfast.
..I usually have midnight snack too with my hubby.. we eat mostly leftover cookies and desserts..
Oh wow this looks and sounds divine! I can definitely relate to midnight munchies, tehehe.
I think a touch of cinnamon would make these even better and more like donuts. I love late night snacks.
Oh my! These look so delicious!!
I am a 10pm snacker! Not a midnight one but come 10pm I just have to have something!
That French toast looks sinfully good! Great photos and I like your format – I’m working on redoing mine.
Those French toasts look fantastic and so tempting! I love your shots and presentation!
Cheers,
Rosa
Hey Aunty number 5, yeah when can you have those french toast again? i like them way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW! I love french toast! hehe This looks really yummy!
This would have been perfect for me last night. Instead I had two slices of toast – one with Nutella and one with crunchy peanut butter and golden syrup (I was a little greedy with the golden syrup and ended up with droplets all over my desk, oops). Oh and a mini Crunchie
i’m not much of a midnight snacker, but you’d better believe i’d leap out of bed for this! gorgeous photos of a delicious dish–the arils are a delightful touch.
I don’t eat late at night unless I’ve been out having a few drinks. These look absolutely delectable and I can’t wait to cook them up for my boyfriend…and myself. I liked Mark @ Cafe Campana’s suggestion, I will be putting it into action. Also, I’ve never tried Pomegranate so this could be it’s induction into my diet.
I can’t wait to read more sweeeeeeeeeet recipes like this!
I’ve been enjoying watching “Nigella Express” on the new Cooking Channel. I always chuckle at the end of each episode, where Nigella sneaks down to the fridge to enjoy a midnight snack. But then again, if I had these donut French toast slices anywhere in my kitchen, they wouldn’t be safe at any hour of the day or night. Yum!
Very interesting idea! I’m not a big fan of doughnuts, but I do LOVE French toast. Just made some Baked French Toast about a month ago, and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing. Keep up the great work!
I’m not a midnight muncher, but this would certainly make a fantastic breakfast. And that I cannot live without. So decadent: Doughnut & french toast wrapped in one! Wow…
this looks like heaven! can’t wait to try it! love your website.
“Caster Sugar” is sold in the States as “superfine” …