Caramelized Plums & Croissant French Toast for BSI

I just love croissant french toast. It's crispy yet tender at the same time and melts in your mouth in a flurry of sweet buttery decadence. This time around was especially delicious with caramelized plums adorning them and a liberal dose of thick, maple syrup filled with the sweet licorice-like flavor of anise and cinnamon. Anise always reminds me of my Grandma's pizzelles. She always brought a platter of them when she came to visit - whether it was a special occasion or not. The platter always looked the same - perfect pizzelles(none of us can make them like her) with little square colored mints and Hershey kisses scattered all around. There was always plenty leftover, my favorite way to eat them was for breakfast with a cuppa tea. What I wouldn't do to see my Grandma coming in the door with one of her platters in hand!


I caramelized black plums with a bit of sugar in a buttered skillet. This lets the sweet purple juices escape into the pan and this, along with the caramelized bits of sugar off the bottom is what I used to make the anise syrup. I couldn't let all that goodness go to waste. The little bit of tartness in the plums was wonderful with the sweetly spiced syrup and the light, flaky layers of the croissant. Did I mention this is for BSI? Lauren of Healthy. Delicious. is hosting this week. If you haven't been to see her - go say hi now! She is a talented cook who whips up awesome meals that look like they belong in fancy restaurants!







Caramelized Plums & Croissant French Toast w/ Anise Syrup
(by Reeni)

Butter
5-6 ripe plums
Sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup, plus extra for serving
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 croissants
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
whip cream, for serving

For Plums and Syrup:

Heat a large skillet on medium-low heat. While the skillet is heating slice the plums in half and remove the pit. Sprinkle a few teaspoons of sugar in a small shallow bowl.When the skillet is nice and hot add about a teaspoon of butter, just enough to thinly coat the bottom. If the butter sizzles the pan is hot enough. Dip each plum's cut side into the sugar and place in the hot pan. Let cook for about five minutes. Remove the plums and turn the heat down to low. Add a teaspoon or two of butter, maple syrup, honey, anise and cinnamon. Turn heat up just a bit, scrap up the bits from the bottom of the pan and stirring the mixture well to combine. As soon as it starts to bubble, remove from heat.


For French toast:

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Slice your croissants in half lengthwise. In a large shallow bowl whisk eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Grease the pan with butter or baking spray. Dip each half of croissant on each side in the egg mixture, letting excess drip off. Cook on each side until golden brown. Serve with plums, anise syrup, maple syrup, and whip cream.


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