Jelly Donuts Are The Secret To Unforgettable Fruity French Toast

If you love both jelly doughnuts and French toast, we have great news: there's a sweet and delicious way to enjoy both of them for breakfast at the same time. All you need to do is give your favorite jelly doughnut the French toast treatment. Dipped in a custard mixture and pan-fried, jelly doughnuts take on a beautifully sweet, crisp texture on the outside while the jelly inside warms into a fruity, syrupy goo. Syrup is certainly tasty on this breakfast treat, but it's optional since the jelly basically acts like a syrup once you cut into the doughnut.

The process for making this indulgent breakfast is extremely similar to making French toast with ordinary slices of bread. You use the same cinnamon-dusted milk and egg mixture to coat the outside of each doughnut before laying them into a hot pan awash with a thin layer of bubbly butter. That sizzling butter adds richness without overshadowing the flavors of the doughnut, whereas something like olive oil might.

It's worth mentioning that jelly doughnuts are a little more fragile than bread, especially once soaked in the custard, so it's important to take your time and handle them gently when placing them in the pan and flipping them. It's a fantastic way to revive day-old, stale jellies. Just as dry bread is the best kind for making French toast, stale doughnuts are the best for making the upgraded version of this breakfast favorite. 

Once you've mastered the art of turning your favorite jelly doughnuts into French toast, you may find yourself wondering if there's a way to upgrade the upgrade — and there are several. The first, most obvious way to upgrade your French toast jelly doughnuts is by giving them the PB&J treatment. The same delicious peanut butter sauce you love on ice cream is also perfect for drizzling over warm, fruity French toast doughnuts. And if you like putting chocolate chips into your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, you can get extra fancy and melt some dark chocolate or white chocolate chips (or even both) and drizzle that into the mix. 

Doughnuts aren't always the most sophisticated treat, but it's still fairly easy to make French toast-style jellies a little fancier with fresh or homemade ingredients. Lemon or orange curd mellows the jelly's sugary sweetness, while something like blackberry or blueberry compote acts as a companion flavor for maximum fruity goodness. You might also give a wink to the other popular filled doughnut with a dollop or two of homemade custard or a scoop of frozen custard.

If you want to make this dish for a crowd, turn a small box of jelly doughnuts into an easy oven-baked French toast casserole. Once assembled, you can simply pop it into the oven for a fuss-free brunchtime treat. Some of the jelly may leak from the doughnuts as they bake, but that only enhances the casserole by giving the custard a fruity upgrade. However, you might want to keep the heat slightly lower and check your casserole frequently to ensure the extra sugars aren't causing dark, burned, and bitter spots.