Dessert Meets Breakfast with this Vanilla French Toast and Coffee Ice Cream Recipe

Hands down, my favorite breakfast when I was a kid was french toast. I would have eaten it for breakfast lunch and dinner if I could. Especially when I was trusted to pour my own syrup. Hint: I could not be trusted to pour my own syrup.

So, when Coffee-Mate approached me to share a childhood memory based on one of their sweet throwback flavors, I immediately started thinking about my favorite place to eat as a kid… When I was little, there was this tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant at the marina, by our house, that my family would go to nearly every weekend. It was my favorite! And, actually, I still go there every time we are back in California to visit. It’s still there, 30 years later! Every time I go, I get the same thing: vanilla french toast. It was my fave when I was little and it’s still my fave today.

And I hope it will be on your list of favorites soon too because today, I’m whipping up a classic vanilla French toast, inspired by Coffee-Mate Classic Vanilla Flavored Creamer and my go-to breakfast as a kid. Bonus! I threw a coffee ice cream recipe into the mix too, that will convert even the non-coffee-drinking crowd. So good! You can serve the French toast and ice cream together or separately, depending on how crazy youre feeling. Ah, the benefits of being an adult right?! Ice cream for breakfast.

Before you get started…

For both of these recipes, we used Coffee-Mate Classic Vanilla Flavored Creamer, which is my fave. Can’t go wrong with vanilla, right? But if you want to liven up these recipes with a little something extra, you can also try the Coffee-Mate Toll House® Chocolate Chip Cookie and Caramel Macchiato flavors. Chocolate chip cookie french toast sounds so good. I may have to try that one next time.

Vanilla French Toast Recipe

Ingredients:

– 1 baguette, challah, or brioche loaf, cut into 1″ slices
– 6 eggs
– 2 cups Coffee-Mate Classic Vanilla Flavored Creamer
– 1 tbsp granulated sugar
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/2 tsp cinnamon
– 1/8 tsp nutmeg
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 1/4 cup flour

You’ll Also Need:

Griddle or pan // Large bowl // 9″ x 13″ casserole pan or other large shallow container // Baking sheet // Sifter or fine-meshed sieve // Whisk // Spatula

Steps:

Start with slightly stale bread slices. This can be done two ways: leaving the slices out the night before or toasting in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, creamer, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

While whisking, gradually sift the flour into the egg mixture.

Pour the egg mixture into the casserole pan. Add the bread slices. Soak for 30 minutes, flipping the bread slices halfway through to evenly soak both sides.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fry the slices until golden brown. Transfer the slices to the baking sheet and bake them for 10 minutes in the oven to ensure they are cooked through.

Coffee Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

– 1 1/2 cups whole milk
– 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
– 1 cup Coffee-Mate Classic Vanilla Flavored Creamer
– 1/2 cup light brown sugar
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 1 tbsp instant coffee
– 2 tbsp corn starch

You’ll Also Need:

Ice cream maker // 2 quart sauce pan // Freezer-safe pans or containers // Whisk // Heat-safe spatula // Bowl (large enough to fit the sauce pan in with ice) // Ice // Thermometer

Steps:

Freeze the ice cream freezer bowl for 24 hours in advance. The bowl must be thoroughly frozen before beginning. Keep the freezer bowl in the freezer until the churning step.

Prepare an ice bath for the sauce pan in a large bowl. This will be used to chill the ice cream base afterwards.

Combine 2 tbsp of the whole milk with the corn starch in a small bowl. Stir until smooth and set aside.

Combine the rest of the milk with the heavy cream, creamer, sugar, salt, and instant coffee in the sauce pan. Cook the milk mixture on medium heat until it boils, stirring with a whisk. Cook for another 8 minutes. Keep stirring so that the milk doesn’t scald and the milk doesn’t boil over.

Reduce the heat to low and, while stirring, add the corn starch mixture to the sauce pan.

Increase the heat back to medium and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and submerge the sauce pan into the ice bath. Keep stirring! This will help cool the ice cream base more quickly and evenly.

Once the mixture registers 45 degrees Fahrenheit, add the mixture to the ice cream maker and turn it on. This step will take about 35 minutes. Wait for the ice cream to begin developing a soft taffy-like texture and starts pulling away from the sides of the freezer bowl before stopping the churning process.

Once ready, stop the machine and scoop the ice cream into freezer-safe pans, cover with airtight lids, and freeze overnight.

Serve it over french toast or by itself. I keep thinking it would be good actually in a cup of coffee too…like a affogato al caffe. Yum!

Recipe by Linda Jednaszewski
Concept, photography, and styling by Brittni Mehlhoff

I would love to hear what you favorite breakfast was when you were a kid. Were you a french toast kind of girl? Waffles? Cereal? Would love to hear your stories.

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This post is in partnership with NESTLE Coffee-Mate. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this site possible.