Like a cozy hug. Cinnamon French Toast Muffins with Blueberries have all the deliciousness of French toast in a fun to eat muffin. Coconut milk makes these muffins extra rich and AMAZING! A brown sugar streusel crumble puts them over the top. Perfect for breakfast or a mid afternoon snack.
Monday thru Friday are for eating healthy. Am I right?
But weekends are for cozy breakfasts that are a little out of the ordinary. When Saturday and Sunday roll around, lingering over a Fresh Herb Zucchini Pie, a Crustless Spinach and Bacon Quiche Squares, or these fluffy cinnamony French Toast Muffins along with big mugs of hot coffee is heavenly.
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Why you'll love this muffin recipe
- It's unique! ~ Traditional French toast is delicious. But these muffins are delicious and out of the ordinary. They're a combination of custardy French toast and airy bread pudding making them amazing!
- It feeds a group ~ No more flipping individual pieces of French toast. This muffin recipe makes enough to feed at least 6 hungry breakfast guests.
- The muffins reheat beautifully ~ If you've got some sleepy heads in the morning, just reheat the muffins when they wake up. They can be made in advance. Heat on 60% power in the microwave at 30 second intervals.
Ingredients for French toast muffins
These breakfast muffins have all the ingredients for French toast with a couple changes to up the scrumptiousness. They're a fun twist on the traditional recipe.
- salted butter
- large eggs
- coconut milk ~ Use full fat and not low fat coconut milk to add extra richness to the muffins.
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- unsweetened shredded coconut ~ In a pinch, use sweetened shredded coconut.
- cubed bread from a French loaf ~ A sturdy loaf that holds up to the custard works best. Airy bread will dissolve in the custard.
- blueberries ~ Fresh berries are my first choice. But frozen ones work too.
- light brown sugar ~ Dark brown sugar is an alternative.
- all purpose flour
- kosher salt
- powdered sugar
- maple syrup
Scroll to the complete recipe for the full quantities of the ingredients.
How to make French toast cups
A little like bread pudding and a little like a muffin. The aroma is intoxicating as the muffins bake in the oven.
My inspiration for the muffins is from the fluffy pancake/bread pudding version of this recipe. I developed my childhood favorite of custardy in the middle and golden brown on the edges French toast into a streusel topped muffin instead.
It all starts with a standard custard. But with a few changes.
After beating the eggs, stir in sweet, floral and nutty coconut milk instead of the usual cow's milk. Add in an extra dose of coconut to the custard with some unsweetened and shredded coconut. Warm spices of cinnamon and nutmeg and a some caramelly vanilla extract finish off the custard.
Stir the bread cubes into the custard. You'll want to use a sturdy loaf French bread for the perfect French toast muffins.
Scoop the muffin batter into a greased nonstick muffin pan. A one cup measure works well for this task. Tuck a few blueberries among the coconut custardy soaked bread.
If these French toast muffins weren't already delicious enough, a buttery brown sugar streusel is the topper.
After baking for about 25 minutes, let the muffins cool for a few minutes before removing them from the pan. Serve with a couple shakes of powdered sugar and warm maple syrup.
Expert tips
- Cut the bread into about 1-inch cubes. A sturdy loaf of French bread is perfect for these French toast muffins. The cubes will hold their shape even after soaking up the custard. That makes for the wonderfully jagged muffin tops. Better to grab all the streusel crumbles!
- For a more sugary French toast muffin, add sweetened flaked coconut instead of the unsweetened flaked coconut.
- Don't squish the blueberries. If you stir the berries in along with the bread cubes, they are likely to break and mash. Tuck them in around the bread cubes after scooping the custard soaked bread into the muffin cups.
Frequently asked questions
A nonstick muffin pan is insurance that the muffins will come out in one piece. Coating the inside of the pan with melted butter (cooking spray is also an option) is extra assurance for beautiful muffins.
Coat the muffin pan with butter or cooking spray. Also, don't rush to take the muffins out of the pan. Let them cool for 5 minutes or so. Then run a knife around the edges to loosen any caramelized streusel around the muffin tops. A fork can help lift the warm French toast muffins out of the pan.
More recipes like this one
One more thing
Did you try this recipe?
Let me know by leaving a comment and a star rating below. Share it on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.
Thanks ~ Amy
Recipe
Coconut Cinnamon French Toast Muffins with Blueberries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons butter divided
- 5 large eggs
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 9 cups 1-inch cubed bread from a French loaf
- 1 cup blueberries
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- pinch of kosher salt
- powdered sugar for serving
- maple syrup for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Grease a nonstick muffin pan with the melted butter. Alternately, spray the pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, crack the eggs and lightly beat. Add the coconut milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine.
- Add the shredded coconut and the bread cubes and stir until completely coated with the milk mixture.
- Fill each of the muffin cups with about 1 cup of the bread and milk mixture.
- Evenly tuck the blueberries between the bread cubes of each of the muffins.
- For the streusel, in a small bowl add the brown sugar, flour, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of kosher salt. Stir to combine.
- Cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into small cubes.
- Add the butter to the brown sugar mixture. Use a fork or your fingers to incorporate the streusel mixture together. The streusel should be very crumbly and small pieces.
- Evenly sprinkle the streusel over the muffins. Press down lightly on the streusel on each of the muffins.
- Bake the French toast muffins for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes before taking them out of the pan.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle with warm syrup.
Video
Notes
- Use full fat and not low fat coconut milk to add extra richness to the muffins.
- Cut the bread into about 1 inch cubes. You want the bread cubes to hold their shape when soaking up the custard making jagged muffin tops. Better to grab all the streusel crumbles!
- A nonstick muffin pan is insurance that the muffins will come out in one piece. Coating the inside of the pan with melted butter (cooking spray is also an option) is extra assurance for beautiful muffins.
- If you stir the berries in along with the bread cubes, they are likely to break and mash. Whole blueberries is what you are after for the muffins so tuck them in around the bread cubes after scooping the custard soaked bread into the muffin cups.
- Don't rush to take the muffins out of the pan. Let them cool for 5 minutes or so. Then run a knife around the edges to loosen any caramelized streusel around the muffin tops. A fork can help lift the warm French toast muffins out of the pan.
Nutrition
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