This is a traditional Christmas dessert I have grown up with. It’s a kind of Pain Perdu (or French Toast), soaked in a sweet syrup with cinnamon. The main difference is that Pain Perdu is soaked in egg and ‘Rabanadas’ are soaked in milk and then coated in egg. And one is mostly eaten at breakfast, whilst the other is a dessert. They are usually fried and the syrup is mainly made of sugar and cinnamon. My Mum and I decided to make some changes and make them slightly healthier by cooking the ‘Rabanadas’ in the oven and adding some interest to the syrup. For this, we took inspiration from a recipe from one of my favourite blogs (As Minhas Receitas) by a wonderful Portuguese cook, called Joana Roque. We made some changes to the syrup, the main one replacing the raisins (because they’re not my favourite thing) with chopped dried figs (which are one of my favourite things).
I have to say that cooking the ‘Rabanadas’ in the oven instead of frying them made a huge difference, with each having a much lighter and fluffier texture. The nutty syrup really makes a difference and it’s up to you what you want to put it in, I think any other nuts and other dried fruits would still work well. If you want to take this dessert out of Christmas, serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, all year round!
Portuguese 'Rabanadas' with honey, nuts and figs
A fluffier and healthier twist on a traditional Portuguese Christmas dessert, with added interest by mixing honey, nuts and dried figs into a usually simpler syrup.
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Servings |
Prep Time |
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6 |
40 minutes |
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Servings |
Prep Time |
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6 |
40 minutes |
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|
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Portuguese 'Rabanadas' with honey, nuts and figs
A fluffier and healthier twist on a traditional Portuguese Christmas dessert, with added interest by mixing honey, nuts and dried figs into a usually simpler syrup.
|
Servings |
Prep Time |
|
6 |
40 minutes |
|
Servings |
Prep Time |
|
6 |
40 minutes |
|
|
|
Instructions
Preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius (356 Fahrenheit, Mark 4).
Start by preparing the syrup by adding all the ingredients into a saucepan, except the almonds. Stir well in order to dissolve the honey.
Let it cook for 20 minutes until the syrup has reduced and thickened and set aside.
While the syrup is cooking, put the almonds in a baking tray and place it in the middle of the preheated oven until golden and crispy.
Slice the bread loaf into 12 ½ inch (2cm approx.) wide slices.
Line a large pirex dish (or a baking tray) with baking parchment and grease with butter.
In a saucepan, heat the milk, the lemon zest, the cinnamon sticks and 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar, until it is hot and remove the mix from the heat just before it starts boiling.
Transfer the mix into a wide bowl, let it cool down a little.
Lightly beat the eggs in another bowl.
Soak the bread slices in the milk mix and remove each of them carefully and then coat them in the beaten eggs.
Lay the soaked slices in the greased Pyrex dish, making sure they don’t touch (as the egg coating might make them stick to each other).
Place a little knob of butter on top of each slice.
Place the Pyrex dish in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until they are golden brown. They should puff up a bit.
In a bowl, mix the remaining 2 tbsp of granulated sugar and cinnamon and coat each slice before placing them carefully in a serving dish. Alternatively you can place 2 per plate for each person if you prefer serving individually.
Pour the nutty and fruity syrup over the slices and sprinkle with the toasted almonds.
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