By Little Northern Bakehouse

Bright, bold, and beautiful, our Blueberry French Toast with Lemon Curd may be one of the best brunches you’ll make all year. Just thinking about layers of hot French toast filled with lemon curd and topped with sweet blueberry compote is enough to make our mouths water! And while this incredible combo may taste like summer on your tongue, frozen blueberries mean you can enjoy our Blueberry French Toast with Lemon Curd all year long!

We owe Minimalist Baker full credit for her sunny Vegan Lemon Curd recipe—we loved her eggless lemon curd so much, we couldn’t resist coming up with something new to pair it with! But be warned: this zesty creation needs at least 5 hours to set in the fridge before you can use it. Make it the night before you need it. Or plan brunch for noon, and wake up and make it with the dawn birds if you’re an early riser! Whenever you make it, keep an eye out for sneaky spoons while it cools! And if you somehow have leftover lemon curd or blueberry compote after this brunch, polish them off with a scoop of vanilla non-dairy ice cream for a truly decadent dessert.

(We used Little Northern Bakehouse Sprouted 7 Grain for the photo on this page, but any of our breads will do. This Blueberry French Toast with Lemon Curd is excellent with White Wide Slice, too. Try it with your favourite gluten-free bread this weekend!)

Instructions:

For the lemon curd:

  1. The night before you need it, prepare the lemon curd. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and arrowroot starch and stir until starch dissolves.
  2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together coconut cream and lemon zest, then stir in the lemon juice mixture, and add the maple syrup.
  3. Whisking often, bring the lemon curd mixture to a simmer. Do not boil. Reduce the heat as it begins to thicken, and trade your whisk for a silicone spatula to make sure none of the lemon curd stays on the bottom or sides of the pot long enough to scorch. Continue cooking until the lemon curd reaches a thick, pudding-like consistency.
  4. Remove the lemon curd from the heat, taste, and add more lemon zest as needed until it’s as lemony as you like it. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then transfer to a widemouth mason jar or glass bowl. As it cools, lemon curd can develop a tough skin; to avoid this, cover your lemon curd with a piece of plastic wrap so the plastic is in direct contact with the surface of the curd.
  5. Refrigerate your lemon curd for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight, and allow to completely set before using. It will keep for 7 – 10 days (if it lasts that long!)

For the blueberry compote:

  1. In a small saucepan, melt non-dairy buttery spread over medium-low heat.
  2. Add blueberries, maple syrup, and vanilla. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until berries are soft. Near the end of the cooking time, use the flat side of a large spoon to squish the berries against the side of the pot. Squish as many as you like to reach the whole-berries-to-sauce consistency you prefer.
  3. If you’re using fresh blueberries, your blueberry compote may be thick enough at this stage; remove from heat and allow to cool slightly while you prepare the French toast. As frozen berries release more liquid, you’ll want to thicken the compote. Remove the pot from the heat, and stir in the ground chia. Let the compote sit for at least 5 – 10 minutes to thicken before serving.

For the French toast:

  1. Prepare the soaking mixture by mixing together non-dairy milk, chia, maple syrup, and vanilla in a shallow bowl.
  2. Working a slice at a time, dip the bread into the mixture, first on one side, then the other.
  3. In a frying pan over medium-high heat, melt some of the non-dairy butter, then add your first slice. (You can cook more than one slice at a time, but be sure not to crowd the pan—the slices should not touch while cooking). Cook each side until golden brown. To keep cooked slices warm while you complete the rest, place them on a cooling rack on a cookie sheet. Stash them in the oven on warm.

To serve blueberry French toast:

  1. Place one slice of French toast on a plate. Add a generous dollop of cooled lemon curd, and top with a second slice of French toast.
  2. Cover the top slice with blueberry compote. Finish with a sprinkle of lemon zest, and serve!