Martha Stewart's Genius French Toast Ingredient Takes Breakfast From Blah To Bougie

Even though Martha Stewart's personal daily breakfast routine consists of green juice and avocado toast, she knows how to make a top-notch platter of French toast. What sets Stewart's version apart from other variations is her use of orange liqueur.

Adding flavors to French toast's custard base is one of many reliable ways to upgrade classic French toast, and orange liqueur gives the dish a more complex taste than other, more standard, options like vanilla and almond extracts. While these showcase single flavors in their purest form, an orange liqueur like Grand Marnier combines the aroma and flavors of brandy, macerated orange peels, and aged oak from the distillation process.

If you're down to give Stewart's French toast upgrade a try, all you need to do is add a small amount of Grand Marnier or another orange liqueur to your custard base. A tablespoon for every four or five slices may be all you need. If you don't like the idea of using alcohol, simply use extra orange juice and zest. And for a brighter, more developed citrus flavor, you can include all three: juice, zest, and liqueur. While these simple additions elevate the taste of classic French toast, Stewart suggests a few more ingredient upgrades for A-plus results every single time.

Martha Stewart has a knack for enhancing simple foods with signature ingredients, and her French toast recipe is no exception. Besides adding a touch of orange liqueur to her custard base, the sophisticated chef uses a few other specialty ingredients in her one-of-a-kind breakfast. For starters, Stewart likes to use brioche bread for its milky flavor and buttery crumb. While you can buy pre-sliced loaves, opt for slices that are slightly thicker than sandwich width. This ensures your bread won't fall apart during the soaking phase.

Also, instead of sweetening your orange-flavored custard with maple syrup or regular sugar, follow Stewart's advice and use sanding sugar. Sanding sugar grains are larger in size than regular sugar granules, giving your French toast an extra sparkly finishing touch.

Once you secure your own preferred ingredient upgrades to this classic breakfast, play around with more delicious twists on French toast that will stir your cravings. For example, use Hawaiian rolls instead of brioche or top this sweet-tasting meal with flavorful extras like Nutella, chopped walnuts, or pecans.