Vegan Chai French Toast

Chai. French. Toast. Three words that make me endlessly happy. Chai tea is just one of those drinks that will always make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It’s refreshing when the weather is hot, and pure comfort when it is cold outside. Oh chai, you magical, beautiful, rule-breaking beverage.

In this recipe, the bread is dipped in a milk that has been infused with the spicy, aromatic flavours of chai tea. This infusion makes the milk a deep caramel colour, which in turn gives the french toast a satisfying golden colour. It’s just all very lovely.

Chia seeds are used to replace the eggs in this recipe. I usually just add them in whole, because the seeds really don’t bother me, but if you’d prefer they went more unnoticed, you could always grind them down before adding to the milk.

The perfect pairing for the chai flavoured toast – in my humble opinion – are caramelized figs with some crunchy caramelized hazelnuts. If you happen to have some coconut cream laying about too, I think that would be just sublime. But the world is your oyster – do what you like, fellow lover of breakfast foods!

Vegan Chai French Toast

Ingredients

4 Slices of Thick Cut White Bread
2 cups Almond Milk
2 English Breakfast Tea Bags
1 Cinnamon Stick
3 Whole Cloves
8 Cardamon Pods – crushed
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 tbsp Chia Seeds
1 tbsp Maple Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

To serve:
4 Figs – sliced in half
2 tbsp Vegan Butter – melted
2 tbsp Light Brown Sugar
3 tbsp Hazelnuts – chopped

Method

1. In a large saucepan over very low heat, pour in almond milk. Add tea bags, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, ground nutmeg. Leave to steep for 15 minutes.
2. Once done steeping, use a sieve to remove the spices and tea bags.
3. Pour the chai milk into a shallow glass dish and add chia seeds, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Place in fridge for about 20 minutes to allow the chia seeds to activate and create a thick milk mixture.
4. Dip the bread slices into the milk for 30 seconds each side. Then cook them in a large frying pan over medium heat. About 5 minutes each side, or until golden brown.
   
   

Figs & Hazelnuts to Serve:

1. Toss the fig halves in melted butter then sprinkle over the brown sugar.
2. Add to a frying pan over medium heat and cook for 4 minutes with the open half down before turning over and cooking for a further 2 minutes.
3. To the sticky fig caramel, add the chopped hazelnuts.
4. Spoon this mixture over the french toast to serve. Add a little drizzle of agave or maple syrup for some extra, extra sweetness – if you like it like that!

Ready for Pinning!