Hong Kong Cafe Inspired Mini French Toast

This Hong Kong Cafe inspired Mini French Toast 迷你港式西多士 is now my new go to weekend brunch. Inspired by that crispy Hong Kong Cafe toast, this peanut butter-filled dessert is crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. It’s the sweet-creamy flavors of the Hong Kong Cafe recipe you’ve always loved in a mini bread roll. Made with King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls, these crispy mini toasts are the perfect size to indulge on the weekend.

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Hong Kong Cafe Style French Toast

What’s the difference between a typical French toast and the Hong Kong Cafe, or cha chaan tang（茶餐廳）style French Toast?

A Hong Kong Cafe Style French Toast is typically sandwiched with something yummy – like peanut butter, kaya, Nutella, or just sugar. Then it’s quickly dipped in a light batter and shallow fried in oil, instead of just pan-fried. Finally, it’s topped with your favorite sweetener, whether that’s condensed milk, honey, or syrup.

Ingredients For HK Inspired Mini French Toast

What Bread To Use For HK-Style French Toast?

For this Hong Kong cafe inspired recipe, I’m using King’s Hawaiian original sweet rolls for that extra soft and fluffy bite. The slightly sweet rolls crisps up into a caramelize toast that pairs perfectly with the peanut butter and condensed milk. Also, they’re just the right size for one mini snack.

You can also use dinner rolls, or slices of brioche or Milk Bread for this recipe to get that same fluffy, light texture.

Creamy Egg Batter

Rather than using the sweetened custard like the traditional French toast, we’re quickly dipping our sandwiches in a thinner batter of unsweetened milk and eggs to get that slightly crunchy crust on our mini French toast.

We shallow-fry the battered sandwiches instead of pan-frying so it crunches up a lot better. This light layer protects the peanut butter from leaking out, and gives your bread that golden-brown color after frying. It’s crispy and light, but still can soak up plenty of condensed milk.

How To Make Hong Kong Inspired French Toast

1. Slice the sweet Hawaiian rolls in half or into thick slices.
2. Spread about 1 tbsp of peanut butter per roll on the inside slices and sandwich them back together.
3. Whisk eggs and milk, then dip each side peanut butter roll into the egg mix.
4. Pan fry in oil until golden-brown and crispy.
5. Finish with a drizzle of sweet condensed milk.

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