Coconut French Toast with Tropical Fruit

Breakfast in the Caribbean. It’s already hot by 8 a.m., the air humid and shimmering. You’ve got your bathing suit on underneath your clothes, and a pair of dark shades to cut the glare coming off the water. You swing through the dining room to hit the buffet for a big bowl of vibrant, juicy tropical fruit, then find an umbrella-shaded table on the patio by the pool where a server brings you a plate of crispy, sweet Coconut French Toast. If it’s early in your trip, you’re silently counting the days you have left and deciding to order this French toast every morning for the rest of the week.

At least, that’s the way I remember it when we stayed at an elegant resort in the British Virgin Islands, years ago. That was our view (above), from our breakfast table every morning.

Coconut French Toast was one of those restaurant dishes I filed away in the back of my head, thinking someday I’d try to recreate it at home. I’m not sure what took me so long because now that I’ve made my copycat version I’m doing the same thing I did back on that poolside patio all those years ago – asking myself how reasonable it would be to eat this for breakfast every day for the foreseeable future.

Because it was many years ago, a few of the details of the original dish have grown a little hazy in my memory. I think they served it with syrup, but I doubt it was maple syrup. Being from New England, I’m resigned to having “pancake syrup” (made mostly from corn syrup) when I’m in a restaurant, but I won’t serve it at home – it’s maple or nothing around here. I just didn’t think maple and coconut would work together, so I nixed the syrup altogether and topped my Coconut French Toast with a heap of sweet tropical fruit instead. First I macerated the fruit in a little honey and lime juice, which brought out the juiciness of the fruit and helped it to form a very light, fresh-tasting syrup that was the perfect complement to the coconut flavor in the toast.

I chose a combination of mango, pineapple, kiwi and banana, but you could add or substitute other tropical fruits such as papaya or passionfruit if you like.

This French toast is flavored with coconut in three forms: cream of coconut and coconut extract in the custard, and a coating of sweetened flaked coconut on the outside of the bread. The flaked coconut is added just before the toast hits the griddle, so it gets brown and crisp.

A couple of additional notes on the ingredients:

The amount of custard called for may seem small compared to other French toast recipes but that’s deliberate. Brioche is so soft, it will suck up the custard incredibly quickly, and can get soggy if it absorbs too much.
Don’t substitute coconut milk for the cream of coconut in this recipe – they are too very different things. Cream of coconut is thicker and sweeter than coconut milk. You need the extra sweetness in the custard, because you won’t be dousing this French toast with syrup.
Cream of coconut tends to separate in the can, forming a layer of very thick paste at the top of the can and a watery liquid underneath. I usually find it impossible to recombine cream of coconut just by shaking the can – it’s best to dump all the contents into a large bowl and use either a whisk or a hand-held mixer to beat it until it’s smooth and blended.
You’ll have a lot of cream of coconut left over after making this recipe. Use the remainder in a coconut dessert or a batch of tropical cocktails. To freeze it for various uses including future batches of Coconut French Toast, divide it among several small zip-lock bags, then put all the small bags into one larger one for the freezer. That way you can grab a few tablespoons of cream of coconut without having to defrost the whole amount.

Prep tips, making this ahead, and what to do with leftovers:

If you want to prep ahead, you can mix the custard the night before and chill it overnight. You could also dice and slice the fruit (everything but the banana) and chill it overnight. Don’t add the honey/lime dressing to the fruit until you’re ready to griddle the French toast.
For best results, griddle the French toast and assemble the fruit topping just before serving. If you need to make it a little bit in advance, you can hold the toast in a 250-degree oven for up to 30 minutes. If you plan to do this, start with the oven at 250 instead of at 325 as indicated in the recipe. When you get close to serving time, increase the oven heat to 325 for a few minutes to get the French toast nice and crispy.
If you end up with leftovers, they can be reheated in the microwave or in a 325-degree oven. The French toast will be less crispy than when originally griddled – the oven does a so-so job of reviving the crispiness but the microwave will not. Regardless, it will still have great coconut flavor.

If you’ve been reading regularly, you’re starting to get the idea that French toast is one of my favorite breakfast/brunch dishes. Here are some other French toast recipes from the archives:

If it’s more tropical-themed recipes you’re in the mood for, you might try these:

Coconut French Toast

June 3, 2021

Servings: 4

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Make sure to use cream of coconut - not coconut milk - in the custard. Refer to the notes in the post for more info on this key ingredient.

By: Cate Fry

Ingredients

2 mangoes, peeled and ¾-inch diced
1 cup diced fresh pineapple
2 kiwis, peeled, halved and sliced
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
¾ cup sweetened flaked coconut
Neutral oil, such as expeller-pressed canola oil
½ cup whole milk
¼ cup cream of coconut
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon coconut extract
1/8 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or a large pinch of Morton’s
Eight ¾-inch thick slices brioche
1 banana

Directions

Step 1 Heat the oven to 325 degrees and line a large baking sheet with foil.
Step 2 Combine the mangoes, pineapple and kiwi slices in a bowl and toss. Drizzle the honey over the fruit, then the lime juice. Toss to coat the fruit with the honey and lime, then set it aside while you prepare the French toast.
Step 3 Spread the flaked coconut out in a thin layer on a small baking sheet. Heat a large nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat.
Step 4 Measure the milk and cream of coconut into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Add the eggs, sugar, coconut extract and salt and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture into a half sheet pan or other large rimmed baking sheet or shallow dish that’s just big enough to hold all the bread in a single layer. If you don’t have a dish that’s big enough, use two dishes and divide the mixture evenly between the two. Lay the bread slices in the dish(es) and let them sit for 1 minute, then turn them to soak the other side for 1 minute. The bread should soak up most of the custard, but don’t worry if there’s a little bit left after the 2 minutes are up. While the bread soaks, add a thin coating of oil to the griddle and let it heat for 1 minute.
Step 5 Pick up one piece of bread and lay it in the flaked coconut, coating just one side of the bread with the coconut. Lay the bread on the griddle, coconut side down. Repeat with three more pieces of bread. Cook the French toast until the bottom side is browned and crispy, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook the other side until golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Transfer the French toast slices to the prepared baking sheet, coconut side up.
Step 6 Add a little more oil to the griddle and cook the second batch of French toast, transferring it to the baking sheet when done.
Step 7 Bake the French toast for 5 to 10 minutes, until it’s heated through and slightly crispy.
Step 8 Stir the fruit, making sure that all the honey is dissolved and the fruit is coated in a light syrup. Peel the banana, slice it on the diagonal, and add the banana slices to the fruit, stirring to coat the banana in syrup.
Step 9 Transfer the French toast to a cutting board and cut each slice on the diagonal. Serve 4 triangles of toast per person, with the fruit and syrup spooned on top.

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