French toast with berries in syrup

Ingredients:

French toast

• 1 baguette approximately 60 cm long.
• 2 cups low-fat cream or milk
• 3 cinnamon sticks, 7 cm long, broken into pieces
• 6 large eggs
• A pinch of grated nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tbsp (45 g) butter
• Powdered sugar

Pickled berries

• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 cup blueberries, washed
• 1 cup strawberries, washed, trimmed and cut in half or into quarters if large
• 1 vanilla pod, cut in half lengthwise, seeds scraped out with a knife and set aside
• Grated zest of half a lemon
• Grated zest of half an orange
• 1 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of sugar

Preparation:

1. In a small saucepan, heat the cream and cinnamon until bubbles begin to rise up the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the nutmeg and sugar. Strain the cream into the eggs and discard the cinnamon sticks. Whisk until the batter is smooth.
3. Preheat oven to 175°.
4. Using a serrated knife, slice the bread diagonally into 18 2.5cm thick slices.
5. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add half the butter. Dip 9 slices of bread in the batter and place them in the skillet. Fry the slices, turning once, until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer the toasts to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bread. Bake in the oven until heated through and slightly puffed, about 8-10 minutes.
6. Arrange the French toast on large plates and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Garnish with marinated berries and serve immediately.
   
   Pickled berriesIn a small saucepan, combine the sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, all-citrus zest, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer until syrupy, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the orange and lemon juice. Combine all the berries in a bowl. Strain the warm syrup over the berries and let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then serve.