Lavender Is The Unexpected Ingredient To Balance A Rich French Toast

Your next French toast is in for a flavor upgrade taken straight from the countryside of France. With the complex floral notes incorporated in your breakfast and brunch recipes, plates of French toast will take on an elegant, if not regal dimension. The earthy, mint-like quality of lavender can level out some of the sweeter notes commonly found in plates of French toast, leaving you with a meal that is sure to garner appreciative praise from other diners at the table. 

Since different kinds of lavender present unique flavor profiles ranging from smoky to fruity, curious cooks will have plenty to play with when building new recipes that will delight breakfast and brunch lovers. Keep in mind that lavender isn't for everyone's palate, however, and the flavors of the herb can be strong. To circumnavigate potential mishaps, work with smaller amounts of the herb to create plates of French toast that are interesting and not repulsive, and use other herbs like rosemary and sage to serve stacks that offer both sweet and savory components. 

At-home cooks have a few tactics to experiment with, like grinding lavender into a fine powder to sprinkle on top of French toast stacks or mixing the pieces with cinnamon powder and sugar for a sweet garnish. Milk and cream can also be infused with lavender before it is stirred into eggy custard for pieces of bread to be dipped into. Simply simmer dried lavender and milk and strain before using.

Lavender-infused sugar can be made by adding chopped-up buds to sugar and letting the combination sit for several days. The sugar can then be used in your French toast recipes, or you can make simple syrup with lavender and use the ingredient to sweeten the homemade honey whipped cream you use to dollop on top of plates. Combine lavender syrup with drizzles of honey to top stacks of French toast and play with building unique layers of flavor by merging lavender with extracts and sweeteners of your choice.

If you can't be bothered boosting maple syrup at home with a lavender infusion or don't have the time to make lavender ingredients of your own, you have options. You can consider buying lavender-infused maple syrup to pour on top of your next strawberries and cream French toast bake. Once you're familiar with using lavender in your recipes, you can experiment with other ways of bringing a calming presence to the breakfast table with lavender coffee drinks and pieces of blueberry-lavender coffee cake.