French Toast Pancakes With Caramelized Bananas

I’ve been away from you for a little white. I hate that! And I’m sorry. But I’m back in full effect with tons of exciting new stuff.
Tons. As in, you might get sick of me. But you shouldn’t be hungry, so hopefully it will all come out in the wash.
Before we get into some pretty epic French toast, one more thing that I hate:  administrivia! But just like being away, sometimes administrivia is necessary, so I’ll just keep it short:
You may have noticed a few minor changes at ScarlettaBakes.com over the past few weeks, namely the new social networking menu on the right-hand side of each page and the new email subscription newsletter.
The social networking menu is designed to make it easier to keep up with SB – SB on Facebook, SB on Twitter, SB on Pinterest, etc. So keep up with me, if you please!
The email subscription newsletter (you can sign up using the top button on the social networking menu or by clicking here) is simply my favorite way to keep up with my favorite blogs, so I wanted to bring it to you for Scarletta Bakes. SB right into your Inbox every time I’ve got a new recipe going on – it’s just that simple!
So that’s it. And now, may I please present you with…  French Toast Pancakes With Caramelized Bananas!

And I already know what you’re thinking:  French toast pancakes?!? Make up your mind, woman!
No!
I won’t!
I refuse to give up the warm embrace of breakfast indecision!

The fact of the matter is, for me, on most days, breakfast is absolutely where it’s at.
I love eating breakfast.
I love thinking about breakfast.
I love the way breakfast makes me feel.
I even love the sound of the strong consonants and rounded vowels that form the word ‘breakfast’.
So, being the breakfast lovin’ lover that I am, I feel that it’s my prerogative to have my (pan)cake and eat it (French toast) too.
Which brings us to these French toast pancakes.

It’s a simple equation, really:
(1 loaf white bread + 1 three-inch cookie cutter)^{egg wash} + bananas x caramel sauce = epic French toast
This is my kind of math.

And speaking of math, there’s actually very little involved in preparing this über-simple dish.
In fact, it’s so simple that it’s the perfect breakfast treat to serve over the upcoming holiday!
You need your energy! You don’t have a lot of time! Get your French toast pancake on!

So that’s it.
Breakfast.
French toast.
Pancakes.
Banaynays in caramelized brown sugar.
Drooltown.

Canela French Toast Pancakes With Caramelized Bananas
For the French toast pancakes:
1 loaf white bread
4 large eggs
2 tsp. canela, ground (ground cinnamon may be substituted)
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
For the bananas:
3 bananas, sliced horizontally
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 c. dark brown sugar, packed
To prepare the French toast, use a sharp 3″ cookie cutter to cut rounds out of the sliced bread. Save the remaining bread scraps to feed the duckies at your local pond.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk and cinnamon until the mixture is uniform. Use a fork to dip the bread pancakes in the egg wash mixture. You want to coat both sides of each piece and allow them to soak, but not for more than a minute – you don’t want the pieces to become too saturated.
Meanwhile, heat one tablespoon of butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Fry the soaked pieces for 4-5 minutes on each side – I think this French toast is best when it’s cooked pretty well done. I made 16 French toast pancakes working in batches of 4 pieces at a time. I refreshed my pan by adding the second tablespoon of butter halfway through.
At the same time, heat the butter and sugar for the bananas in a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat. Cook for several minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Raise the heat to medium and fold in the bananas so that they are well-coated. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.
Pour the cooked caramel and bananas over the French toast pancakes and serve immediately.