A Grateful Meal

Mother's day

Sourdough French Toast

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This Sourdough French Toast is everything you want in a French toast recipe but with extra flavor thanks to sourdough bread.

Breakfast and brunch are some of my favorite meals, so let’s talk French toast. With French toast, you want warm spiced, crispy on the outside, custardy in the middle, and this recipe has all of that and more. Making French toast with sourdough bread helps make the taste just a little more complex. You won’t taste a super-strong tangy taste, but more of a milder, complex flavor to the French toast.

Judging by how many people were swept away by making sourdough during quarantine, I’m willing to bet there’s a lot of people out there with a surplus of sourdough bread. So, here’s a great way to use it up! Plus, you can still use this French toast recipe for other types of bread. I like to use bread that is a little on the stale side that I wouldn’t want to make a sandwich with, but making it into French toast gives it new life.

Close up of sourdough french toast with strawberries, blueberries, and yogurt on top on a white plate.

Ingredients

Milk: I used cow’s milk, but I recommend using whatever milk you like best. If you use plant-based milk, opting for a flavored one like vanilla can give a little extra flavor. Using one with a little bit of fat also helps with the French toast’s flavor and texture.

Eggs: This is what helps make that custard-like center of the French toast.

Spices and flavors: Cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt are needed for this recipe, but feel free to adjust to your preference. Any warm baking spices would work like pumpkin pie spice, clove, cardamom, etc. Use what you have on hand; just be mindful that the more strongly smelling (like clove) the spice, the less you’ll want to use. If you’re feeling a little extra, you can sub in bourbon or hazelnut flavored liquor instead of the vanilla extract.

Maple syrup: Putting just a touch of sweetness from maple syrup into the soaking batter really brings out the flavor. I used maple syrup since I planned on eating the syrup on top later but feel free to substitute other sweeteners like honey, agave nectar, or regular old sugar.

Sourdough bread: As I mentioned above, I really like the flavor that sourdough provides, but you can substitute other types of bread if you’d like or if it’s what you have on hand.

Tips and How to Make Sourdough French Toast

Sourdough French toast is relatively easy to make. It merely involves whisking your eggs, milk, spices, and flavorings together and allowing the bread to soak in the mixture, followed by a sear on each side of the bread in a pan. One of the best tips is to make sure that the middle part of your bread really takes in the egg mixture. The drier your bread, the longer you’ll want to soak it. My bread was a little on the drier side, so I let it soak for a few minutes. Other recipes don’t really focus on this part, but I think it’s key to getting that custardy center characteristic of French toast. If your bread is on the softer side, you won’t have to soak it for long.

I usually poke the center of the bread while it is soaking to see if the middle is saturated. Once it feels like the center is thoroughly soaked, I pop it in the pan for cooking.

A white plate of sourdough french toast with berries and yogurt on top with a side of butter and maple syrup.

Topping Ideas for French Toast

The toppings are one of my favorite parts of French toast. I’ve listed a few options in the recipe that you can try, but here are a few different flavor combinations to add on top of your French toast:

  • Peaches and Cream – peaches topped with a bit of vanilla yogurt
  • Chocolate and strawberries – chocolate chips with fresh strawberries
  • Tropical – mango chunks with coconut shreds
  • Banana nut – bananas with maple syrup and pecans
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Sourdough French Toast

A plate of sourdough french toast with berries and yogurt on top with a side of butter and maple syrup on a white background. There is a fork and blue and white napkin on the side also.

This Sourdough French Toast is everything you want in a French toast recipe but with extra flavor thanks to sourdough bread.

  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 8–10 slices 1x
  • Category: breakfast, brunch

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/3 cup milk of your choice
  • 4 eggs
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp. maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • Butter or a neutral-tasting oil for cooking (like avocado, canola, etc.)
  • 8–10 slices of sourdough bread
  • Toppings of your choice: maple syrup, butter, yogurt, fruit, coconut, nut butter, powdered sugar, etc.

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the milk and eggs until smooth in a shallow baking dish. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Whisk until completely incorporated.
  2. Heat a skillet over med-high heat. Coat skillet with butter, oil, or cooking spray to prevent sticking. Soak both sides of bread slices in egg mixture until middles are saturated.
  3. Fry bread slices in skillet until golden on each side (about 3 minutes per side). Serve warm with your favorite toppings.

Keywords: breakfast, brunch, sourdough, french toast

White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf Cake

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This post contains links that pay me a small commission at no extra cost to you.

This White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf Cake is the perfect sweet loaf cake! The caramelized white chocolate paired with the tart sweetness of the raspberries makes this recipe a keeper! It’s a great addition to a breakfast, snack, or dessert.  

Loaf cakes are some of the easiest and fool-proof ways to bake. Banana bread, zucchini bread, etc., are some of my favorite things to bake. They require very few utensils and don’t require me to use an electric mixer. And then you pop it in a loaf pan and can walk away for about an hour. The hardest part about baking a cake is letting it cool enough so that it doesn’t fall apart when you take it out of the pan. I tend to want to dive right in.

This kind of cake doesn’t require any sort of icing to be delicious. I topped this loaf cake with extra white chocolate chips, which formed this super delicious and caramelized crust on top. I think it might be my favorite part!

Ingredients for White Chocolate Loaf Cake laid out on a white background including vanilla extract, eggs, sugar, flour, greek yogurt, white chocolate chips, and vegetable oil.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour: This is obviously the base of the cake. You can also use whole grain flour, but if you do, I would do a 50/50 blend with all-purpose. Or you could also try a whole grain pastry flour, which would give a softer texture than regular whole grain flour. I like the basic all-purpose for this cake. Not only was the flour used for the base of the cake, but I also used a little bit (about 1 tbsp.) to dust the raspberries before adding them to the batter. I’ll tell you why below.

Baking powder: This is the leavening agent needed to make the cake rise. Make sure it’s fresh and not expired, or you might end up with a flat cake.

Salt: This is needed for leavening purposes, but salt in baked goods gives the sweetness a little more sharpness because of the contrasting flavor.

Sugar: I used plain, white granulated sugar. I don’t recommend anything else for this recipe as most other sweeteners (like brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, etc.) would alter the cake’s moisture ratios causing it to potentially fall apart. And, if you’ve followed my blog and Instagram for a while, you know that sugar is sugar, and there is nothing wrong with using good, old-fashioned white sugar in baking. 

Greek yogurt: Getting Greek-style yogurt is important for this recipe because of the consistency. Greek yogurt also adds a tang and helps keep the crumb of the cake tender. It works similar to buttermilk in recipes.

Vanilla extract: This is a must for most sweet baking recipes for that warm, delicious vanilla flavor.

Milk: I needed just a little bit of milk for the consistency of the batter. I used 2% cow’s milk, but I don’t think it matters what kind you use.

White Chocolate: You can use mini or regular-sized chips. The recipe is for regular-sized chips; if you use the minis, I would cut the amount back to ½ cup or so.I really liked adding some white chocolate chips on top – it made the most delicious topping when it caramelized in the oven.

Raspberries: They are one of my favorite fruits. I used fresh and have not tested this recipe with frozen raspberries. If you want to try frozen, I can’t promise the end result, but I do strongly recommend not letting them thaw before adding them to the batter. Add them frozen. And don’t skip the dusting in flour trick that I explain below!

A container of raspberries with a bowl of flour used to toss the berries in.

Important Cooking Tip

One big tip that I have when you’re adding fresh or frozen fruit into your baking is to coat it in flour before adding it to the batter. This does two things. One, it helps absorb excess water given off from the fruit. This is especially important if you use frozen fruit because the freezing process damages the fruit’s cell walls, causing it to spill all of its juice or liquid much more easily. This is why frozen fruit can be off in texture when eating it by itself, but it’s also important to note that freezing only impacts the texture, NOT the nutritional profile. Frozen fruit is just as nutritious, if not more than fresh fruit. (Note: I did not test this recipe with frozen raspberries.)

The raspberries and chocolate chips in the batter of the White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf Cake with a blue spatula and yellow bowl.

And two, it may help all the fruit from completely sinking to the bottom of the pan. Some of the fruit still did sink to the bottom, but there were definitely pockets of raspberry throughout the loaf cake.

A loaf pan of the White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf Cake batter.

How to Serve White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf Cake

This cake is good any time of day. I eat with breakfast, as a snack, or as dessert. You can top it with some butter and eat it like bread, eat it plain, or even spread some of your favorite yogurt or hazelnut spread like Nutella on top.

Another fun way to eat it would be to break it up into a small mason jar, and layer in yogurt and more fruit for a fun take on a trifle.

TBH though, I mostly eat it plain, standing in my kitchen. I can’t usually wait to put it on a plate, make any fancy preparation, or let alone sit down to eat it. It’s that good.  

The White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf Cake on a cooling rack sliced with a small bowl of raspberries on the side with subway tile in the background.
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White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf Cake

The White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf Cake on a cooling rack sliced with a small bowl of raspberries on the side.

This White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf Cake is the perfect sweet loaf cake! The caramelized white chocolate paired with the tart sweetness of the raspberries makes this recipe a keeper! It’s a great addition to a breakfast, snack, or dessert.  

  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 60-75 minutes
  • Total Time: 70-85 minutes
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
  • Category: Baking, Dessert, Snack, Breakfast
  • Method: Baking

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + extra 1 tbsp. 
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips, divided
  • 1 container (6 oz.) of fresh raspberries

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan with butter or cooking spray.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients – 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients – Greek yogurt, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and milk. 
  3. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix until just incorporated. Fold about ¾ of the white chocolate chips into the batter. Save the remainder of the chips for the top of the cake.  
  4. Toss the container of raspberries in 1 tbsp. of all-purpose flour. Gently fold in raspberries to the batter until evenly distributed. Pour batter into the loaf pan and top with remaining chocolate chips. 
  5. Bake for about 60 -75 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from pan and slicing. 

Keywords: White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf Cake, Baking, Snack, Dessert, Breakfast

Tomato Bruschetta with Whipped Feta Pesto

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This post contains links that pay me a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Roasted tomatoes in a cast iron skillet with bruschetta on the side.
This post contains links that pay me a small commission at no extra cost to you.

This is such an easy tomato bruschetta recipe! Which is perfect for an easy, weeknight summer meal. I love roasting tomatoes in the oven. Rarely have I found a tomato that doesn’t taste even better roasted, even middle-of-winter grocery store tomatoes. The problem is that this summer, who wants to turn on the oven more than they have to? So with a little help from my cast iron skillet, I turned my gas grill into a tomato flavor machine.

Roasted tomatoes in a cast iron skillet

I wanted to pair the tomatoes with their natural friend, basil pesto. I wasn’t exactly feeling that just any old pesto would work here. To make the pesto feel a little extra special, I decided to marry a version of whipped feta along with the pesto. Whipped feta is one my absolute favorite small plates from Butcher and Bee in Charleston. Drizzled with honey, it’s creamy, salty, and sweet. Basically, it’s heaven on earth.

Tomato bruschetta with a bite taken

To accompany the tomato bruschetta, I threw together a quick salad and boom – the perfect summer meal. It’s basically a fancier version of pizza, but way more flavor, not to mention it’s on the table in less than 30 minutes!

Tomato bruschetta with pesto and basil on a plate
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Tomato Bruschetta with Whipped Feta Pesto

  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp. olive oil, divided
  • salt/pepper to taste
  • 1/3 cup almonds (or pine nuts, or preferred nuts)
  • 2 cups fresh basil
  • 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice (optional)
  • 1 french baguette
  • additional basil for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat grill burners over medium-high heat or to at least 450 degrees. Add the tomatoes to a cast iron skillet, drizzle with 1 tbsp. olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place cast iron in preheated grill. Cook tomatoes until blistered and they begin to pop, releasing their juices.
  2. Add nuts to food processor and pulse until ground. Add basil, feta, minced garlic, lemon juice (if using) to food processor, and season with salt and pepper. Pulse until completely incorporated. Scrape down sides and drizzle in 1/3 cup of olive oil. Pulse until completely smooth.
  3. Slice baguette and toast in toaster or on grill. Spread whipped feta pesto on bread, top with blistered tomatoes, and garnish with extra basil if using. Serve.

Notes

Serves about 4-6 people. 

Shop the recipe:

Homemade Strawberry Shortcakes with Yogurt Whipped Cream

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DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINK(S), WHICH EARNS ME A SMALL COMMISSION AT NO COST TO YOU.

Hello again!

I’m so excited for today’s recipe – it’s a real hit and turned out even better than I imagined. It’s homemade strawberry shortcakes with yogurt whipped cream. The yogurt cream is sweet with a light tang – absolutely perfect for these shortcakes.

Creamy, Dreamy Yogurt Whipped Cream

I am in LOVE with this stuff. The slight tang in the yogurt is a perfect offset to the sweetness of the strawberries and buttery biscuits. I do think it is very important to pick a high quality, whole milk yogurt with simple ingredients. I used Siggi’s Vanilla 4%, and it was perfect. (Disclosure: I did not receive compensation from Siggi’s for this post.) I did add some extra vanilla extract for a little extra oomph. Dare I say, I think I might like this better than regular whipped cream. It’s just got more flavor. (Another disclosure: I may have licked the bowl clean.)

Give me the honey, honey.

The main sweetener in this dessert is honey. Not because it is any healthier, but because of it’s taste. The taste of honey changes so much from variety to variety that you could have a different taste every time depending on the honey’s flower source or location. I think it will be fun to try a new variety of honey every time I make this dish…and trust me I will be making this again (and again, and again!)

This one goes out to all those Mamas!

It’s the perfect dessert to show those Mamas some love on Mother’s Day! Strawberries are always a hit with my mom, and I would definitely be making it if we were able to get together this weekend. Unfortunately, she lives a weeee bit far away. If you’re reading this, Ma – I’ll make sure it’s a part of our next get together!

BUT, this recipe isn’t just for the Mamas – it’s a keeper as long as those fresh strawberries keep on coming!

Enjoy!

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Strawberry Shortcake

  • Yield: 6 shortcakes 1x
  • Category: Dessert

Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 oz. all-purpose flour, (about 1 ¼ cups)
  • 3.5 oz. whole wheat flour, (about ¾ cup)
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and very cold
  • 1 cup low fat buttermilk, very cold
  • 1 lb. fresh strawberries
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 1/3 cup regular whipping cream
  • 1 small container (4–5 oz) high quality thick vanilla yogurt (Recommend Siggi’s 4% vanilla)
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven 450 degrees F.
  2. Add flours, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda to the bowl of food processor. Pulse until mixed thoroughly.
  3. Add cold cut-up butter cubes to processor and pulse until flour looks like corn meal. Little pockets of butter should be speckled throughout flour mixture.
  4. Add cold buttermilk. Pulse just until dough forms and comes together.
  5. Turn out dough on floured board. With floured hands and a floured rolling pin, roll out dough until about 1 inch thick and then fold the dough over. LIGHTLY roll to 1 inch thickness one more time taking care not to overwork dough.
  6. Cut shortcakes with a cookie cutter or an upside down jar. Place biscuits on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat or use a greased cast iron skillet. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown.
  7. While biscuits are baking, cut strawberries, place in a bowl, and drizzle with honey. Mix with a spoon until even coated and set aside.
  8. Mix whipping cream, yogurt, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl on high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form about 2-3 minutes.
  9. Once shortcakes come out of the oven, split shortcake in a serving dish, top with honeyed strawberries, and yogurt whipped cream. Serve immediately.