Canadian Eats: French Toast with Vegan Maple Raspberry Hemp Cream

This French Toast recipe is one of my favourites to date! I created it for Canada Day to highlight and celebrate some of my favourite Canadian ingredients: organic wheat, cranberries, hemp hearts, maple syrup, and berries! 

I first had the idea of making a berry-flavoured hemp cream when I was trying to work through all of the food that I had in the pantry and freezer before I moved across the country in 2014. I had a jar of hemp, and a package of frozen raspberries. And moving day was five days away.

Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say.

I threw everything into the blender, along with a glug of maple syrup and some almond milk. And hence my maple hemp berry cream was born. I loved it so much, I started to put it on everything. I even made romaine lettuce ‘tacos’ topped with the stuff!

And then, I promptly forgot about my creation for four years. It popped back into my head as I was dreaming up Canada Day-themed recipes that I could publish on the blog. Every single one of the ingredients used in the maple raspberry hemp cream is grown or produced in Canada. As a devoted locavore, I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the country.

I decided to use French Toast as the foundation on which to enjoy this maple raspberry hemp cream. But you do you! I think it would be positively dreamy on pancakes, porridge, and on lettuce leaves with sliced banana for a raw taco situation.

I think you are going to LOVE this recipe. It’s:

Healthy
Quick
Summery
Locally inspired
Rich in protein and antioxidants
Maple syrup-infused (yesssss)

If you make this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment below, and tag me on Instagram @holisticallie + #holisticallie. I would love to drool over your creations.

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French Toast with Vegan Maple Hemp Raspberry Cream Sauce

Course: Breakfast
Servings: 2, + extra berry cream sauce
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan, Plant-based, Canadian

Ingredients: 

• 4 slices organic sourdough bread (I used cranberry walnut sourdough bread)
• 2 large organic free range eggs
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 tbsp grass-fed butter, preferably local

For the Maple Raspberry Hemp Cream 

• 1/2 cup hemp hearts
• 1 1/2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen, preferably local)
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 3/4 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Make the French Toast: Whisk eggs, cinnamon, and milk together in a large shallow bowl. Preheat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add butter.
2. Dip each slice of bread into egg mixture, coating each side.
3. Cook French Toast for about 3 minutes per side, or until browned and slightly crispy.
4. Make the Maple Hemp Raspberry Cream: Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until very smooth and creamy, adding more non-dairy milk as needed to achieve a consistency similar to yogurt.
5. Divide the French Toast between two plates and top with desired amount of berry cream.
6. Leftover hemp cream can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. It will lose some of its beautiful pink/red hue, but it will still be delicious!