Chocolate French Toast

Chocolate is not one of the normal breakfast “food groups,” the way things like bacon, eggs, toast and hash browns (among other things, of course) are, so I don’t usually take it into account when I am starting to prepare breakfast in the morning. But that doesn’t mean that chocolate shouldn’t be a breakfast option on occasion, right? Chocolate chip pancakes are one of my favorite chocolate-laced breakfast options, not only because they’re tasty, but because it is easy to throw some chocolate chips into some pancake batter. That same trick doesn’t work for something like french toast, but it’s not difficult to turn that breakfast favorite into something chocolatey, either.

I added some cocoa powder to the custard mixture – the milk and egg combination – that I use to dip my french toast bread before frying it. I also added a little bit of maple syrup to the mix to take the edge off of the unsweetened cocoa powder, even though french toast is served with enough syrup that it wouldn’t make too much of a difference if you left it out.

The finished french toast tasted like bread pudding with a hint of chocolate to it: custardy in the center and firm on the outside. It’s not too sweet and has a hint of egginess to it, just as a good french toast should. I used some chocolate sauce as my “syrup” to make this even more indulgent, but it goes well with regular maple syrup, too.

Chocolate French Toast
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp maple syrup
4-6 thick slices of bread

Whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla extract into a medium bowl. Sift in cocoa powder, and whisk it in well, along with the maple syrup. Pour into a shallow dish.
Preheat frying pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Lightly grease with butter or nonstick spray.
Soak each slice of bread in the egg mixture, turning once to coat thoroughly.
Cook french toast on preheated griddle until it is cooked through, meaning no liquid should run out when lightly pressed.
Serve immediately, with chocolate syrup, maple syrup, or whipped cream and chocolate chips.

Serves 4-6, depending on the size of the bread.