A recipe for French toast with elderberry sauce

I had the idea for this recipe at Laporte’s. I’d been thinking about what to do with the elderberries in the garden. There were only a few, so jam or jelly was out of the question. And then I was eating my brunch at Laporte’s and I wondered if they’d make a good sauce for French toast. And they did.

Tiny, dark purple, and subtly fruity, elderberries are the fruit of the elder bush (the same one that produces elderflowers in the spring). They are ready in August or September when the stems turn red and the clusters of berries hang upside down. 

You’ve got to be careful when cooking them as the stalks and raw berries are mildly toxic. Pick the whole cluster, strip the berries off the stalk with a fork, and then remove any unripe or shrivelled ones.

Elderberries ready to pick: stalk is red and berries hanging down

French toast with elderberry sauce (Serves 2)

For the toast:

8 slices of day-old baguette (or 4 slices of another bread)

2 eggs

2 tbs milk

A pinch of salt

A knob of butter

For the sauce:

50g elderberries (about five clusters of berries)

25g caster sugar

1 tbs water

Put the elderberries (stripped from the stalks) in a saucepan with the sugar and water. Stir over a low heat to dissolve the sugar, then bring to the boil and simmer for two minutes.

To make the French toast, beat the eggs with a fork, add the milk and salt. Dunk the baguette slices in the mixture for about 30 seconds on each side. Heat the butter in a frying pan, and once it’s frothing, fry the slices for about two minutes on each side.

Put the French toast on a plate and drizzle over the sauce.