Rabanadas or Fatias Douradas are a classic Portuguese dessert that’s very popular around the festive season. Like a traditional French Toast or Eggy Bread, fatias douradas are made of a day-old bread that’s soaked with a mixture of milk, sugar, a mix of spices and citrus peel, then fried and coated in more sugar and cinnamon.
The Portuguese variety involves deep-frying the bread instead of simply pan-frying it. Resulting in an indulgent eggy bread that’s crispy on the outside but very moist on the inside and has the classic golden colour of the Portuguese pastries. Hence the name fatias douradas, which simply translates as ‘golden slices’.
About Our Rabanadas Recipe
You might be wondering what’s Portuguese about French toast, and the answer is, not only the cooking technique is different, but also the type of bread used. While French Toast calls for brioche or other sandwich bread, fatias douradas are made with a Portuguese bread called cacete, which has a light crust, and a closed crumb that’s perfect for retaining the liquid batter.
The Portuguese twist is also in simmering the milk with the spices and citrus peel as to extract the maximum amount of flavour. The eggs, instead of incorporated in the batter, are whisked in a separate bowl. The whisked eggs are used as a final coat before the bread enters the hot oil. Yes, Portuguese rabanadas are deep fried in hot oil, which traps all that delicious infused milk inside. When you eat rabanadas you almost forget it’s made with bread, as it feels like you are eating a pastry such as a donut or churro.
What Bread to Use for Rabanadas?
For this recipe we used cacetinho, a mini version of cacete, which is available in basically all supermarkets and bakeries across the country. The result is smaller rabanadas that are perfect for those who just want a little sweet treat after a big meal.
During the festive season in Portugal, you will find rabanada bread available in most supermarket chains. They resemble a big baguette and are labelled as cacete rabanada. The mini version of this bread is available year-round. If you don’t have access to Portuguese bread, you can use any soft bread roll or even pre-sliced sandwich bread.
This is another simple Portuguese recipe yet packed with flavour. It’s a great way to repurpose stale bread, and also good for those with limited time, as it comes together in less than 30 minutes!
How to Make Portuguese Rabanadas
Rabanadas – Portuguese French Toast
16
servings10
minutes15
minutes120
kcalRabanadas or Fatias Douradas are a classic Portuguese dessert that’s very popular around the festive season.
Ingredients
4 Bread roll (approx. 280g total) – a day or two old
600 ml Full Fat Milk
2 Eggs
30 g Demerara Sugar
1 Cinnamon Stick
1/2 Vanilla Pod
3 Slices of Lemon Peel
1 l Canola Oil (for frying)
80 g Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon Powder
Directions
- In a small milk pan, add milk, demerara sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon peel, and vanilla pod (scrapped seeds and pod). Place over medium heat, once gentle bubbles start to form around the edges of the milk, remove from the heat and cover with a lid. Allow it to infuse for about 10-minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the canola oil to a pan suitable for deep frying, then place it over medium heat.
- Slice your bread rolls into 2cm slices approximately.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl, give them a gentle whisk.
- In a separate bowl, add the granulated sugar and cinnamon powder, stir to combine.
- Remove the cinnamon stick, lemon peel and cinnamon pods from the infused milk.
- Once the oil has reached around 190°C (you can check the temperature by placing wooden chopsticks inside the oil. If you see many bubbles form around the wood and they start to float up, the oil is ready for frying).
- Dip a slice of bread into the infused milk, allow some of the excess to drip off, then dip it into the whisked eggs, give it a gentle shake to remove excess. Carefully place into the hot oil. Fry on both sides until golden brown, remove from the oil and rest it on top of absorbent paper. Repeat the process with the remaining slices.
- Coat each slice with the sugar and cinnamon mixture before serving.
Notes
- The traditional recipe calls for cacetinho, but you can use any similar bread roll that’s a day or two old!
Have you tried this recipe? Let us know in the comments!
