This post is dedicated to a flavor loaded beer French toast extraordinaire. Which is also very easy to replicate. All you need is bourbon barrel aged ale and fresh cherries. The idea for it evolved while Chris and I were waiting for an amber ale he brewed in early spring to condition.
Over the course of three weeks Chris tasted his cherry bourbon brew every few days before he finally decided that it was ready to bottle. A few days later we were able to appreciate the slow processes that gave his creation exquisite warm vanilla sweetness and inviting cherry aromas. We indulged nightly and came up with this buttery croissant beer French toast. Not only as an excuse to drink the beer in the morning:)
I started looking for fresh cherries at the end of April and finally our store had some. Not from Colorado, it is too early, but nevertheless fresh cherries. Our cherry season is just around the corner though.
Did I tell you guys that we endured a massive spring snow storm a few days ago? We are not even in the mountains. Nature pruned most of the trees in our neighborhood. We are talking trees broken in half, big branches falling over cars and destroying property… The over 12 inches of snow that fell was captured by thousands of fully leafed branches, bent them to an incredible ninety degrees and caused them to snap like chopsticks. The snowflakes were massive and very, very wet and heavy. It was scary and we happily took comfort in Chris’ libation.
The ale took awhile to make. Since we do not yet have a bourbon barrel to age ales in, Chris soaked American oak chips in bourbon for almost four months. The subject bourbon was born in Colorado and was given to us by a long time friend. He is the manager of 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Co., a distillery in the Vail Valley, up in the mountains of Colorado. We used to live there until our awesome boy turned two. During a visit a few months ago our friend (Hi, Shawn!) presented us with a bottle of their smooth bourbon.
The 10th Mountain bourbon imparted its hallmark vanilla and honey flavors onto the oak chips, the oak chips infused the flavors into the ale, and six pounds of frozen cherries contributed fruity notes and aromas. We used the ale in two ways to make this beered up French toast. In the soaking liquid for the bread (croissants seemed perfect) and in the fresh cherry compote.
The airy croissants soaked up the ale, eggs and cream wash and were easily molded into cup shapes using a muffin tin. Once out of the oven where the liquids evaporated they smelled absolutely divine, creating impatience in us while the cherry compote filling was being infused with vanilla and oaky notes in the pan.
As much as we love strong coffee we had to opt for more of the ale as our beverage. Beer French toast makes a great brunch course…You could start with your coffee and eggs and transition to these babies and ale.
There are numerous ales sold today aged in bourbon oak barrels that have a similar flavor profile to Chris’ bourbon cherry ale. They are actually so popular that it will be odd if your local craft beer store doesn’t have a few to offer to your attention. Fruit conditioning is not necessary, you are looking for the bourbon signature flavors transferred via the oak. Locating a brew to recreate this beer French toast should be a breeze, so hurry up and give it a try while cherry season is in full swing.
Chris will make the same ale very soon (chips are soaking as we speak) to be sure of his recipe and we will share it in a future post. Since I am obsessed with cooking with beer, I am already thinking of a pork and red quinoa dish that will come alive if infused with the flavors of his cherry bourbon ale.
By the way, croissant French toast cups are also perfect for a picnic, especially the kind that involves a few craft brews. You can practically hold the French toast in one hand and your beer in the other. No utensils.
Cherry Bourbon Ale Croissant French Toast
Croissants soaked in bourbon barrel aged ale, cream and egg liquid, baked and topped with a fresh cherries and ale compote. Yeah. Substitute the coffee for a small glass of bourbon barrel aged ale.
Ingredients
- 6 large butter croissants
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 12 oz bourbon barrel aged ale, use 1/3 cup in the french toast egg wash mixture and 3/4 cup in the cherry compote
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp melted unsalted butter to grease a muffin tin
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 lbs of pitted fresh cherries
- 3 tsp tapioca or corn starch + 5 tsp cold water to mix it with
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a 12 cup muffin tin with butter.
- In a bowl beat the eggs and mix with the cream, 1/3 cup of the bourbon barrel aged ale, and the vanilla.
- Split the croissants in halves.
- Using your hands open up each half to form a flat piece and dip it in the egg wash mixture.
- Line each muffin cup with a soaked croissant half and press to form a cup.
- Bake the croissant cups for 15 minutes. Let them cool off while you make the cherry compote.
- Heat a medium sized pan over medium-high heat and mix the cherries, 3/4 cup bourbon barrel aged ale and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and bring to simmer.
- Mix the tapioca (or corn) starch with water and once well incorporated add to the cherries. Stir until the compote thickens and remove from heat.
- Spoon compote into each croissant cup and enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 405Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 107mgSodium: 234mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 2gSugar: 16gProtein: 7g
CraftBeering says
Love stopping by every week and seeing all the cool ideas others posted.
Amber Harrop says
I would love some of these I adore cherries and your recipes always look incredible
CraftBeering says
Awe! Blushing:)
Beverly says
OMG is all I can say. I am drooling badly here. What a lovely combination of beer and breakfast. Sounds like a winner to me.
Just wanted to let you know that you are my feature pick at Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop tonight. Hope you stop by.
Hugs,
Bev
CraftBeering says
Thank you so much Bev! Great news – might need to celebrate with a beer!
Rita C at Panoply says
Holy cow this looks amazing! My daughter and sil are craft beer junkies, so I’ll definitely need to show this to them (so they can make it and invite me over!!). So impressive, and so glad Kathryn featured you at the Dedicated House so I could see this. Pinned, and thank you!
CraftBeering says
Sounds like such a great strategy to get them to make you breakfast:) Thank you for stopping by Rita!
Dean says
OH MY WORD, THIS LOOKS AMAZING!! And no I didn’t forget the caps lock was on, this looks that AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with us at #MMBH. Pinned!!
-Dean
CraftBeering says
Lol – thank you so much Dean!
Leanna says
Anyone who is invited to your home gets to live a very good life. Everytime you post something I am awed and this is no exception. Beautiful and unique. Pinning.
CraftBeering says
Thank you Leanna! We did get to share these with some friends actually, brought them to a Sunday picnic style beer gathering at a local brewery:)
Catherine says
This looks amazing!! I’m practically drooling all over my computer right now with your beautiful photos! Pinning for future weekends! #ReaderTipTuesday
CraftBeering says
Thank you Catherine! They do entice with their looks, but are so tasty too:)
Snap says
I love cherry everything. My mouth is watering! Thanks for the recipe.
CraftBeering says
Hope you get to make them soon:)
Sandra L Garth says
Goodness gracious this looks good!
CraftBeering says
Thanks Sandra!
CraftBeering says
Thank you so much Jess!
Lisa says
My husband loves cherries and beer so ‘ll be making these soon! Thanks so much for sharing at Mix it up Monday 🙂
CraftBeering says
Sounds like a plan:)
Akaleistar says
Oh, that looks like it would be an amazing breakfast!
CraftBeering says
You bet:)
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
This looks amazing, what a great way to use cherries!
CraftBeering says
Thank you Kat!
Robin Revis Pyke says
These look delicious! I cannot wait to try out this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
CraftBeering says
Thank you Robin! They are sooo good, especially while still warm.
[email protected] says
Man-oh-man-oh-man! I am a huge fan of the most simple French toast let alone this beauty!! I truly can’t handle the level of creativity you bring to the table! Brava!!
CraftBeering says
Thank you Annie! Very flattered when such encouragement comes from you. Cheers!
cakespy says
This sounds crazy delicious! I’m so glad I discovered this blog, I have become very interested in baking with beer in the past year or so since moving to “Beer City” Asheville…thanks for the inspiration!c
CraftBeering says
Thank you for the kind words Jessie! I am glad that we share an interest. Beer is a great leavening agent and even though in this recipe we didn’t bake with beer per se, we frequently do in many other recipes:)
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices says
Snow?? I thought here in Alberta, Canada, we had the worst possible weather…ever…but it doesn’t seem so, this time 🙂 . Love love these croissant french toast, infused with beer and with that beautiful scoop of cherry compote! Wish I had some right now! Pinned, as well, they look too yummy and gorgeous not to!
CraftBeering says
Thank you Nicoletta! On the note of weather – a friend and her family moved from here to Calgary, it was only a few months ago. She and I have been comparing the weather and I must say it hasn’t been that much better here 🙂 Very unusual year. It was a surprise storm – the weather forecast went from heavy rains to heavy snow … for over 24 hours.
karrie @ Tasty Ever After says
First off, I love beer in the morning so glad we have that in common. lol!
No Way on the snow storm! Wet heavy snow is the worst and especially when it’s in mid-May. Aw heck nah!
This recipe is incredible and your pictures are beautiful. Makes me want a big plate of them right now 🙂
Wish I lived down the street from you guys so I could taste Chris’ cherry beer. Allagash does a sour cherry ale that I love so thinking I could use it for this recipe. Can’t wait to see that pork recipe too!
CraftBeering says
That would’ve been so cool if you lived nearby Karrie! Chris makes two beers a month on average and since we also buy a ton and have the beer clubs we always have beer to share. You know, when it snows at the end of May you kind of need a beer:) I thought that if we left the mountains where it snowed pretty much whenever, no month was safe, things will get better and was shocked by this storm! Right now – high 80’s:) Also perfect weather for a beer! I love everything Allagash that we’ve been able to get here. They know Belgian styles for sure.
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
Cherries are a sure way to my heart! Every year I wait anxiously for them to arrive here and love baking with them! That cherry bourbon ale sounds awesome 🙂
CraftBeering says
Thank you Jennifer, aren’t they the best for baking? So flavorful and hold up well.
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says
Did I read that right–you had a foot of snow a few days ago? Holy cow. I can think of no better way to chase the snowy blues away than this gorgeous French toast. This looks soooo good! I hope your day is going well, Milena!
CraftBeering says
Yes, we did Kelsie(: it was utter chaos. I really hope that we are through with the snow:)
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
I knew I should have picked up those cherries the other day! Well, back to the grocery for me (twist my arm, lol). And that combined with beer and croissants? Oh my – so good! P.S. We had snow here just last week…only a little, but still. Will summer get here already 😉 ? Hope you guys have a great week, Milena!
CraftBeering says
Love cherries! About summer taking its time…I’m so ready!