Hawaiian Bread Pumpkin Spice French Toast with Candied Pecans Recipe
Hawaiian Bread French Toast features soft, pillowy cubes of Hawaiian rolls soaked in a rich pumpkin spice custard, pan-fried to golden perfection in butter. Finished with a dusting of powdered sugar, warm maple syrup, and chopped candied pecans, this comforting breakfast treat marries the sweetness of pumpkin and spice with the buttery crispiness of French toast for a delightful start to your day.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 rolls (serves 4-6)
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Custard Mixture
- 3 Eggs
- 3/4 cup Half and Half
- 2 tbsp Dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp Ground ginger
- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1/3 cup Pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
French Toast Rolls
- 12 Hawaiian Rolls
- 2 tbsp Butter, plus more for serving
Toppings
- 1/3 cup Candied pecans, chopped
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
- Maple syrup, warm, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the custard mixture: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, dark brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to ensure a silky custard.
- Pierce the Hawaiian rolls: Using a toothpick, poke holes through the bottoms of the Hawaiian rolls. This step allows the custard to soak in more effectively for a moist interior.
- Soak the rolls in custard: Submerge 6 rolls at a time in the custard mixture, leaving them to soak for 1 minute on one side. Flip and soak for an additional minute, ensuring the pumpkin spice flavor permeates the soft bread.
- Heat skillet and melt butter: Warm a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan and allow it to melt, taking care not to let the heat get too high to prevent burning.
- Cook the soaked rolls: Place the soaked rolls in the skillet, spacing them to avoid overcrowding. Cook each roll turning them to brown all four sides evenly, about 45-60 seconds per side, until golden brown and crisp on the outside.
- Repeat for remaining rolls: Remove the cooked rolls from the skillet and repeat the soaking and frying process with the remaining 6 rolls, adding more butter to the skillet if necessary.
- Serve: Once all rolls are cooked, dust them with powdered sugar. Serve warm topped with chopped candied pecans and drizzled generously with warm maple syrup for a decadent finish.
Notes
- There will likely be leftover custard after soaking all 12 rolls; you can soak extra rolls if you wish to use it up.
- Be careful with heat while cooking to prevent the rolls from burning; medium-low heat works best.
- Piercing the rolls prior to soaking helps the custard penetrate better for a soft inside.
- For a dairy-free version, substitute half and half and butter with plant-based alternatives.
