In my book, Love’s True Home, when Lauren returned to Looking Glass Lake and tried to take the town’s future into her own hands, Matthew Paycoach wasn’t too happy to see her.
Who could blame him? She’d dumped him nine years earlier, without a goodbye. One or two flippant comments and she had his blood boiling again, and he was ready to even the score between them.
But…behind his pain and anger, there was still a soft part of his heart that was still in love with Lauren. I could tell because even though he was angry, he remembered her favorite dish from nine years ago, and he convinced Annie to make it for Lauren, even though it had been taken off the menu.
When I was writing this scene, I had to come up with a dish that would be memorable. The kind of dish that Lauren wouldn’t be able to get in just any restaurant–not even in the great eateries of San Francisco. It had to be something delicious and homey that she would remember for years. I wanted this dish rooted in her childhood memories…something she associated with home. Because that’s what the book was all about! 🙂 And what could be more homey than banana bread? Turn it into French toast, and you’ve got a memorable dish worth going home for.
When I made this dish the other day, I had to wonder: why in the world did Annie take it off the menu? It was sooooo good.
I was afraid the banana bread would be too dense, but it wasn’t. It had the satisfying delicate fluff of a great custard in the middle, and the edges were crispy and stood up better to the egg mixture than regular bread does.
I was also afraid the bread would fall apart, or that the flavor be too sweet, but that fear melted away when I put the first egg-drenched slice into the pan.
When I finished making this, I piled a few slices up, and slathered them with the gorgeous topping, and danced it into the living room where my very own taste tester, my husband Moose, did what he always does when he thinks he’s about to try a momentous treat. He put his tablet down and sat up straight. “What’s this?” he asked, the end of his nose quivering.
He loved it. I loved it. We turned the entire loaf into French toast and ate it all in one evening. And then I knew why Annie took it off the Moose Dimple Cafe menu.
It’s too good. If the Moose Dimple Cafe had it on the menu every day, there would be stuffed cowboys sprawled all over her establishment, rubbing their bellies and groaning that they ate too much. They’d nap in the booths, and no work would get done on the ranches.
Besides, you have to have leftover banana bread loaves ready for this. And I don’t know about you, but banana bread doesn’t last very long around here anyway.
But I’m rambling. Back to the recipe. Or actually recipes.
Y’all probably already have your own banana bread recipes that you like. You can use that recipe. You can also use zucchini bread. But just in case you don’t, I’ve included a banana bread recipe. Then the French toast recipe (yes, it’s different than regular French toast custard). And finally, there is the topping.
Be careful not to eat the topping right out of the bowl. If you like creamy desserts like Tiramisu, Creme Brulee, and cheesecake, then you might want to think about putting your spoons out of reach so you don’t just eat the topping on the spot!
I recommend making a double batch of the topping. It’s simple and easy to make and is so versatile. Annie makes a batch sometimes and spreads it on toast, bagels, English muffins, or biscuits. She’s also piped it over cakes as a soft frosting, and one time, she put it between soft chewy molasses cookies to make whoopie pies. She’s also put a few dollops over fresh strawberries or peaches.
If you like your French toast very sweet, like my Moose does, then you might want to skip the topping and use classic maple syrup instead. But if you’re like me and want your breakfast items to be a bit more balanced in flavor, go for the topping. I’m not sure how it works, but the topping somehow intensifies the banana bread flavor. It’s so good, it might make you forget how bitter Annie’s coffee is! 😀
Moose Dimple Cafe Banana Bread Recipe
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
2 1/3 cups mashed over-ripe bananas
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together.
- In a medium bowl, cream butter (or coconut oil) with sugar.
- In a small bowl, beat eggs.
- Stir eggs and banana into the butter and sugar until well blended.
- Stir this banana mixture into the dry mixture, just until moistened.
- Pour into pans.
- Bake 60 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for ten minutes, then turn out on a wire rack to cool.
Moose Dimple Cafe Banana Bread French Toast Recipe
3 eggs
3 Tablespoons half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
loaf of banana bread, sliced in 3/4 inch slices
butter or coconut oil for frying
- In a shallow dish, whisk eggs, half and half, and vanilla extract together.
- Melt butter or coconut oil in a heavy-bottom pan over medium-low heat.
- While you wait for the pan to heat up, dredge the banana bread slices in the egg mixture. Let each slice sit for a few minutes in the mixture to soak up the custard. If you need to, poke a few holes in the bread slices along the edges where the crust can be tougher.
- When the butter or oil has heated enough to sizzle when a test drop of water or batter is added, then gently place the slice in the pan. Cook until golden brown, then flip and cook until golden brown on the other side.
- Serve topped with the topping (below) or with maple syrup.
**Note: traditional French toast batters typically call for sugar and cinnamon. Added sugar for banana bread, though, could cause your bread to scorch, because banana bread already has a much higher sugar content.
Annie’s Velvet Topping for Banana Bread French Toast
3/4 of an 8 ounce container of Mascarpone cheese
1/2 of an 8.5 ounce container of Dalmatia Fig spread
- Mix cheese and fig spread together.
- Pipe over French toast by squeezing through a sandwich baggie snipped on the corner, or frost each individual slice like you would a cupcake.
Note**In some areas, Mascarpone cheese may be difficult to find. A good substitute would be cream cheese. Dalmatia fig spread can be found online at Amazon.com, or in the specialty cheese section of your grocery store, or sometimes with jams. While Annie uses the original version, the orange version is fantastic as well.
If you haven’t read Love’s True Home yet, you can get it here.