Cornbread French Toast

Name: Cornbread French Toast
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 package of prepared cornbread mix; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ½ cup milk; 2 tablespoon granulated sugar; ½ cup mascarpone; 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; powdered sugar to taste and for plating; Caramel sauce; ¼ cup pecans, toasted; ½ medium apple, sliced

byJessica June 4, 2016February 1, 2021 February 1, 2021

43 Comments

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Superbly tender and flavorful cornbread battered and cooked french toast style, topped with freshly sliced apples, toasted pecans, vanilla bean mascarpone and a caramel drizzle.

Have you ever fallen in love with a food? Gone to a restaurant multiple times with the intentions of ordering something different and still went back to your one true love?

This is how I feel about cornbread french toast. Which was also an interesting find since I had previously fallen madly in love with their "Full Monty", a lighter version of a Monte Cristo sandwich. The strawberry reduction sauce they serve with it for dipping...to die for. But anyway, back to the cornbread.

As you may know, I'll always choose a sweet breakfast over a savory one. Almost every time. Unless I'm having a severe craving for a toasted everything bagel with cream cheese. However, being the sweet-breakfast-aholic that I am, this cornbread french toast immediately caught my eye. Also a bonus, it had no bananas, which is on almost every other breakfast item. This beautiful plate of cornbread was piled high with freshly sliced apples, pecans, a caramel sauce, and this wonderful whipped vanilla bean mascarpone.

To start my copycat off right, I grabbed our favorite boxed cornbread mix, a delicious honey cornbread mix. Fun fact: I love to bake and cook but I've never made cornbread from scratch. This cornbread is so moist and slightly sweet from the honey. I knew it would make a perfect base for this at-home version of a restaurant meal.

A thinly sliced apple is so necessary for this dish. It keeps it from being just a warm plate of carbs 🙂 which I'm totally not opposed to, but I sometimes like to pretend that I like fruits and vegetables.

Toasted pecans are up next. Toasting is totally optional and I'm not even sure they toast them at the Turning Point. I prefer toasted nuts because it really brings out their flavor.

Before we get to the mascarpone, it's definitely worth mentioning the caramel sauce. You can go the lazy girl's route (no shame here!) but this time around I chose to make this recipe for --> homemade salted caramel sauce. It's also pretty delicious to have over ice cream. You're welcome.

The vanilla bean mascarpone is a mixture of (hold onto your hats, people)...vanilla and mascarpone. And a dash of powdered sugar for sweetness. You can find mascarpone in the Italian section of your grocery store. I've heard people describe it as the "Italian cream cheese". I don't know exactly how it's made, but boy oh boy is it good. Especially perched atop a warm slice of cornbread.

After your cornbread is prepared, definitely allow it to cool before cutting out a square to be dipped into your egg batter. Not that I would know what happens when you try to cut a baked good before it has properly cooled or anything…

A simple French toast batter of egg, milk and a splash of vanilla come together for the cornbread to be dipped into. Fry the cornbread squares up to your liking, slice up an apple, scoop some vanilla bean mascarpone, sprinkle with pecans and powdered sugar and finish the whole thing off with a generous drizzle of caramel sauce.

What a great day it is to be alive.

What's your favorite brunch food? Do you make it at home or always order it when you're out?

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