Jasmine Milk Tea French Toast

Elevate your breakfast with a stack of Jasmine milk tea french toast with roasted grapes. The beautiful flavors complement each other perfectly, creating a fantastic brunch dish!

Watch how to make this

Ingredients

• Heavy cream: Essential for creating a rich and decadent custard base for the French toast.
• Jasmine tea leaves: Used to infuse the cream and milk, imparting a delicate floral flavor to the French toast. This unique addition elevates the dish, offering a fragrant and aromatic profile that distinguishes it from traditional French toast recipes.
• Brioche bread: Brioche bread is favored for its soft, fluffy texture and rich flavor.
• Red grapes: Red grapes are roasted to create a sweet and caramelized topping for the French toast.
• Honey: Serves as a natural sweetener for the roasted grapes, enhancing their flavor and adding a touch of sweetness.
• Mascarpone: Adds a creamy and rich element.

Substitutions and variations

• Bread: You can replace brioche bread with other sturdy bread such as challah or Texas toast. Use gluten-free bread for a gluten-free version.
• Tea: Experiment with other tea flavors such as Earl Grey or chai.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Infuse tea

I love incorporating tea into desserts. Earl Grey and hojicha are my top two favorite tea flavors. But I already have a few desserts with both including hojicha roll cake, Earl Grey bread pudding, and chocolate beignets with earl grey. So today I'm trying something different. And then I saw a friend share an image of jasmine milk tea french toast and I knew I had to recreate it.

Like most of my infused tea recipes, I decided to do the same with this jasmine milk tea french toast. In order to get that lovely jasmine tea flavor, you have to first heat heavy cream and milk with the tea.

Bring the mixture to a simmer over low heat; don't boil the cream or it will curdle. You just want it warm enough to bring out the tea flavor. Then, turn off the flames and let the cream sit for an hour.

Now, the type of tea will make a huge difference in the flavor. Every brand varies so you may need to adjust the amount according to the tea you use. My tea was more subtle so I used 6 tablespoons. Yes, 6 tablespoons is a lot but remember, you're going to mix this with other ingredients so you want an intense flavor.

Step 2: Prepare grapes

While the tea is steeping, prepare the grapes. When fall comes around, I get excited for cooler days but also a little sad about missing the summer fruits. But then I remember, grapes! And what could be better than fresh grapes? Roasted grapes!

All you have to do is place the grapes in a cast iron with butter and brown sugar. I kept some of the grapes on the vine for aesthetics but you can remove all of the vines.

Rotate the grapes about halfway through to make sure all sides get that lovely char. Then, remove the grapes from the pan and simmer the remaining juices with a touch of honey to make a syrup.

If you don't have a cast iron pan, you can roast the grapes on a baking sheet. Then, pour all of the remaining juices into a pan and simmer with the honey.

Make sure to keep the syrup warm otherwise, it will solidify.

Step 3: Make toast

Now, whisk the infused cream with the remaining french toast batter ingredients. Dip thick slices of brioche into the batter, making sure to really let it absorb the batter. If you're not a fan of brioche bread, you can use french toast, regular white bread, challah, or even croissants.

Heat a griddle or nonstick saute pan with a pat of butter and cook the french toast until golden brown on both sides.

If the pan gets too dry, add more butter. As they say, the more butter, the better!

Stack that jasmine milk tea french toast on a plate, top it with the roasted grapes, place a dollop of mascarpone on top and serve with syrup.

Boy, where do I begin? The flavors here are truly something special. The roasted grapes are intense, almost like raisins but not quite. Pair them with the creamy mascarpone and wonderfully subtle jasmine milk tea french toast and it's heaven. This was truly a wonderful breakfast.

Make-ahead and storage

• Make-ahead: You can infuse the cream and roast the grapes the day before. You can also cook the french toast earlier in the day and reheat it in the oven before serving.
• Store: Keep leftover french toast in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Reheat in a toaster or skillet to maintain texture.

Frequently asked questions

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Recipe

Print Recipe

Jasmine Milk Tea French Toast

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: french toast

Servings: 4

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup milk
• 6 tablespoons loose jasmine tea leaves
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 5 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 8 thick slices brioche bread
• butter as needed
• 1 pound seedless red grapes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 ounces mascarpone

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Combine heavy cream, milk, and jasmine tea in a heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a simmer over low heat and heat for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for 1 hour. Strain tea leaves and discard, reserving infused cream.
• Place grapes in cast iron pan. Cut 2 tablespoons butter into small chunks and place on top. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of grapes and roast for 25 minutes, flipping grapes over halfway through. Remove grapes from pan and add 1 tablespoon honey to remaining juices. Bring to a simmer over low heat for 1 minute or until juices become syrupy. Remove from heat and keep warm.
• Whisk together tea infused cream with vanilla, eggs, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Dip bread slices in batter, making sure to coat both sides.
• Heat griddle over medium heat and melt about 1 tablespoon butter. Cook french toast until golden brown on both sides, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and place on serving platter. Top french toast with roasted grapes, a dollop of mascarpone, and syrup. Serve immediately.

Notes

You can roast the grapes and infuse the cream the day before.