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plate of Spanish torrijas with extra cinnamon sugar to serve

Torrijas – Spanish Style French Toast

Robyn
Torrijas are a delicious Spanish Easter recipe that is an easy recipe for stale bread. This Spanish style French toast has soft custardy centres and crispy edges and can be enjoyed warm or cold.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Breakfast, brunch
Cuisine spanish
Servings 4 people
Calories 213 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ c (375ml) milk
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ orange, zested Approx ½ - ¾ tablespoon
  • ½ large baguette
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Cinnamon Sugar

  • 1 tablespoon (20g) granulated sugar / white sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

To serve, optional

  • Honey
  • Berries

Instructions
 

  • Place the milk, cinnamon and orange zest in a medium sized saucepan, and put on a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then when bubbles begin to appear, take off the heat and leave to infuse for 5 minutes.
  • Slice the bread into 1 inch /2½ cm thick slices.
  • Place the bread in a shallow dish and pour over the flavoured milk, making sure the bread is evenly coated in milk. Leave for a couple of minutes, until the bread has absorbed all the milk.
  • Beat the eggs together, then pour them onto a plate.
  • Heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat.
  • Using a large spoon or spatula as the bread can be quite soft and fragile, place a slice of milk soaked bread in the beaten egg and coat both sides, then place in frying pan. Repeat with another 5-6 pieces bread, depending how large your frying pan is.
  • Fry on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until golden, then flip over with the large spatula, and fry for another 3-4 minutes until golden.
  • Remove the torrijas from the pan and place on a sheet of kitchen paper towel to drain off any excess oil, then repeat with the rest of the slices of bread and the other ½ tablespoon of olive oil.
  • Mix the white sugar with ground cinnamon in a small bowl then sprinkle over the warm torrijas.
  • The torrijas can be eaten warm or cold.

Notes

Bread – pretty much any STALE bread, apart from thin ready sliced bread as this can go slimy. The freshness and crustiness will alter how long you need to let it soak in the flavoured milk. I find the best breads to be country style bread or baguettes.
  • The bread needs to be stale! If the bread is too fresh, bake to dry out (see FAQ above). Leave the crust on the bread to help with making them easier to cook as it holds the bread slices together. If your bread isn’t stale then the torrijas can end up slimy.
Milk – full fat milk is best for a richer tasting custard however you can use half fat milk or oat milk, soy milk.
Cinnamon – you can use a cinnamon stick instead of cinnamon powder.
Orange – orange zest, you can use lemon zest instead if you prefer.
Eggs – eggs are used to coat the soaked bread before you fry it.
Olive oil – being a Spanish dish, olive oil is used to fry the eggy toast. You don’t need to use an EVOO.
Sugar – white sugar or granulated sugar, for the cinnamon sugar coating. Leave this out and sweeten the toasts with honey if you prefer.
The bread will be fragile when soaked in the flavoured milk so take care when removing them.
If making the torrijas ahead, don’t reheat them in a microwave as they will become rubbery.

Nutrition

Calories: 213kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 9gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 263mgPotassium: 220mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 309IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 154mgIron: 1mg
Keyword french toast, recipe for stale bread, traditional Spanish recipe

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