Torrijas - Spanish Style French Toast Recipe

Cut Galician bread in ¾ inch thick slices. Combine milk, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon zest and cardamom seeds in a saucepan. Slowly bring to a slow simmer. Continue to simmer for about 15 minutes, and then turn off heat. Soak the slices of bread in the milk mixture, about 1 minute per side. Do not soak them so thoroughly that they will break apart, but try to absorb as much of the milk mixture as possible. Set soaked slices of bread aside to cool on a large plate or platter. Some liquid may be lost. In a deep, heavy pan or skillet, heat about 1/8 inch of olive oil on medium-high heat. Beat the eggs in a wide, shallow bowl and dip the soaked bread slices in the egg mixture, coating both sides. Fry the bread slices two at a time. Flip after 2-3 minutes and cook until both sides are crisp and golden brown. Let the cooked bread slices rest on paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Transfer drained slices to a clean plate. Stir together 1/2 cup of the remaining sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the bread slices to lightly coat and set any remaining cinnamon sugar mixture aside. Add remaining cinnamon sugar mixture to a medium saucepan. Add the last 1/4 cup sugar to completely cover the bottom of the saucepan. Add 3/4 cup of warm water and bring to a boil. Add honey to the mixture, reduce heat to medium low, and allow the syrup to simmer and reduce for about 30 minutes. After simmering, the syrup should no longer be watery. Remove syrup from heat and spoon syrup over the bread slices. They should be completely soaked in the syrup once you’re done. Serve the torrijas hot, or allow them to cool completely, and then refrigerate. Refrigerate torrijas for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. Serve within 2-3 days for the best quality.