French Toast Style Crumpets with Maple Syrup

Just to let you know, this post was written before I started the paleo diet to help ease my psoriasis. Nowadays I eat a more allergy-friendly diet, but leave these older, non-paleo posts up in case they are useful to readers, as I know not everyone eats the same as I do. Thanks for your understanding. 

Crumpets or eggy bread? I thought to myself as I was getting breakfast together one morning.... and then it dawned on me: why not have both?

Eggy crumpets are nothing new: Jamie Oliver cooked them - savoury-style - in his Jamie at Home TV series - but sweet, eggy crumpets drizzled with maple syrup? That would be amazing, I thought. And it was.

You just dip the crumpets into the egg, milk and vanilla mixture and then fry for a couple of minutes on each side, until golden. I love them with some berries, which I get out of the freezer to defrost before doing anything else. By the time the crumpets have cooked, they're ready.

I did try this with some icing sugar over, but I think it works much better with maple syrup - you get that stodgy sweetness, which is perfect for a gentle wake up on a groggy morning.

French Toast Style Crumpets
makes 4 crumpets (to feed 2 adults)
Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp milk
• 4 crumpets
• 1 tbsp flavourless oil
• maple syrup and raspberries and/or blueberries, to serve

Method:

1. In a shallow, wide bowl, crack in the egg, pour in the vanilla extract and a tiny slosh of milk and beat together with a fork.
2. Heat a non-stick pan with a trickle of oil, and dunk the crumpets into the egg mixture, pressing them down so they're properly saturated. Turn them over and do the same again.
3. Place each crumpet into the hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until crispy and golden. Drain on a piece of kitchen paper and then transfer to a plate. Drizzle the crumpets with maple syrup and eat while hot.

What do you think? Would a couple of these wake you up?