The Lunch Files: French Toast

A mousse made with Philadelphia cream cheese, white chocolate, double-cream, icing sugar and vanilla bean. Served with lemon curd and raspberry jam on a crumbed brioche loaf. Covered in fresh berries and meringue. For lunch. Is it as good as it sounds?

Jennifer Jones, marketing manager of Seven Seeds, the evil-genius cafe offering the limited-edition creation, says yes: “It tastes like a dream.”

“The mousse adds a slightly sour but really nice element to balance each component in the dish,” says Jones, who claims the cafe’s new offering is inspired by the changing of the seasons. “Coming into summer it’s a perfect time to refresh the sweet dish on our menu and make use of the delicious fruits in season at the moment,” she says. “They also help to offset the richness of the French toast and pair perfectly with the sweet white chocolate and creamy silkiness of the Philly cream cheese."

For those who want to recreate the dish at home, Jones says go for it. “It might look a bit complicated, but if you break it down into parts anyone can pull it off.”

With its versatility of flavours, Jones says the dish is ideal at any time of the day, but suggests a lunchtime serving paired with a filter coffee. Too decadent? Jones thinks it’s part of a trend in Melbourne that treads the line between healthy and indulgent.

“We’re seeing a pretty good balance of organic options and the more rich, American-diner, fried-chicken-style food,” she says. “We’re very spoilt for choice.”

Update: This item is no longer available in-store. Here's how to make Seven Seeds’ French toast at home.

French toast with white-chocolate mousse and lemon curd
Serves 4–6.

Ingredients:
Brioche loaf
Lemon curd
Raspberry jam
Fresh berries
Meringues
White-chocolate-cream-cheese mousse

Crushed ginger-snap biscuits

Egg mix

Ingredients for white-chocolate-cream-cheese-mousse recipe:
420ml double cream

500g Philadelphia cream cheese

240g white chocolate

120g icing sugar

1 vanilla bean

Method:
Heat white chocolate in a bain-marie (or double boiler) then add 120g warm cream and mix together until smooth. In a blender combine Philadelphia cream cheese, icing sugar and seeds from the vanilla bean. Mix until smooth and creamy. Whip 300g cream using balloon whisk of Kitchen Aid. Mix the melted-chocolate mixture and cream-cheese mixture. Then fold in whipped-cream mixture.

Ingredients for egg-mix recipe:
500ml full-cream milk
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

¼ cup icing sugar

Whisk all ingredients together and put to one side.

Method:
Cut brioche loaf into 1.5cm slices. Sandwich ¼ cup of the lemon curd between 2 slices. Dip sandwich into egg mix. Cook in pan with butter until the outside is nicely browned. Slice diagonally and place on the serving plate. Drizzle the brioche with raspberry jam.

Add crumble and place a big spoon of the white-chocolate-cream-cheese mousse on top. Top with meringues and fresh berries.

This article is presented in partnership with Philadelphia Spreadable Cream Cheese. Featuring the signature smooth creamy texture of Philadelphia cream cheese, we've worked with some of our favourite cafes to design this limited edition lunch menu item, available in-store now.

Philadelphia is a trade mark of Mondelez International Group used under License