With Easter near, who doesn't fancy some French toast? There are some who cannot wait and eat them at any time of the year, but the truth is that this typical dessert is linked to the Lent for some centuries now -in some areas of Spain, as we will see later-. Be that as it may, bakeries and supermarkets are already filling up with the specific bread for making this sweet. Over the years, despite being a recipe with a ancient tradition, it has been varying and evolving to achieve new combinations. In the end, the basic ingredients they require prompt the imagination to find new flavors or textures -without losing the essence that defines them-. Therefore, in this article we are going to see some of the most original torrijas and what you can do at home.
Spanish sweets in Lent
Before we talked about torrijas being a traditional Easter dessert; Nevertheless, it is not like that in all of Spain. The truth is that in areas like Cantabria or the Basque Country, they are consumed more at times like Christmas or Carnival, respectively. Furthermore, there are regions where the typical Easter dessert is the Monas -Valencia, Catalonia and Aragon mainly, but also in Castilla La-Mancha and areas of Murcia-, the pestinos -especially popular in the south of the country or the Shortbread -also common in Andalusia-.
But despite the fact that traditions vary from place to place, it could be said that, in the end, torrijas are the most popular dessert within the Spanish recipe book at Easter. During those dates, they can be found in practically any bakery.
The twist to the flavor of torrijas
As we have said, the torrija It is made with ingredients so basic from the kitchen -bread, milk, cinnamon, lemon / orange zest, egg and sugar-, which gives rise to adding another component to give it that modern and differential touch. For example, we can start by talking about a recipe in which, based on the aforementioned products, you just have to add cream cheese. It is about making a kind of sandwich with the cheese in the middle of two slices of bread, adding the rest of the ingredients as if they were normal torrijas, and voilà: French toast stuffed with cheese.
El chocolate is a very recurring product in many desserts, so the French toast they were not going to be less. The truth is that there are several recipes of the latter in which chocolate is included. With a procedure very similar to that of cream cheese, they can also be made with cocoa cream. If you are looking for an even more "chocolatey" recipe, you can make French toast Stuffed of chocolate. How? Adding cocoa powder to the milk with which you will later wet the bread. Simple!
All the fruits are also versatile products, so including them in our French toast recipe is a success. Accompanying the dessert with a raspberry cream, coated with orange or apple syrup or even with strawberries cut into thin slices, will give it a unique touch and very fresh.
The wide range with the most original torrijas
When it comes to taste, it's about thinking what foods can combine well with those that make up the torrija itself. But in addition, the most daring recipes even give a 180 degree turn to the appearance of dessert. It is worth mentioning the canutillo de torrija -the difference is that you have to crush the bread with the rolling pin, roll it up and then pass it through the milk and the egg without soaking it too much so that it does not break. Also curious is torrijas pudding, which is prepared by adding a custard preparation to the base of the usual ingredients - yes, the bread will have to be crumbled.
As you can see, the options are endless. The torrija It is a very simple but also very grateful sweet that, without a doubt, lets the imagination fly at the time of making it. With chocolate, with cheese, crunchy or with shapes that you might not have imagined. A selection of the most original torrijas they give it a touche modern. What recipe would you try to make at home first?
