French Toast Waffles & Home Made Kaya | A Tribute to Hong Kong’s Cha Chaan Teng Cafes

Our visit to Hong Kong earlier this year reminded me of the delights of French Toast aka ‘eggy bread’. I particularly loved it slathered in melted butter, condensed milk and kaya (often translated as coconut jam). A staple of the cha chaan teng (Hong Kong style café) menu, the French toast is virtually deep fried for a crisp exterior and fluffy interior before being liberally drenched with the favoured toppings – golden syrup, jam and peanut butter are also popular. Some vendors even sandwich two slices of bread around a filling of jam, kaya or peanut butter before they dip in egg and fry.

To bring a taste of this treat home to London I started thinking about different ways to make the French toast and hit upon the idea of cooking them in our waffle maker. Of course, I quickly discovered that there are few ideas worth having that haven’t been had before – I wasn’t the first to hit upon this idea, but I still wanted to develop my own perfect recipe and combine it with kaya for that Hong Kong feeling.

French Toast Waffles on Kavey Eats (1)

Chatting to my friend and guest poster Diana Chan over dinner, I mentioned my plans and wondered out loud where to find good kaya. As luck would have it, Diana had recently come across some recipes for making kaya in a sous vide water bath and was excited to have an excuse to try them out. Once I’d experimented and perfected my French toast waffle recipe, we set a date for Diana to make the kaya and she duly delivered not one but eight little jars, each one a variation of two base recipes, giving us the chance to taste test which one we liked best. To make the kaya, check out these step-by-step instructions for making Sous Vide Kaya.

In the meantime, read on for my recipe for the French toast waffles and then dig out your waffle maker and get cooking!

French Toast Waffles on Kavey Eats (3)
French toast waffle with maple syrup

5 from 2 votes

French Toast Waffles

This recipe makes 3-4 waffles depending on the size of your bread and your eggs. It can easily be scaled up (or down) as needed. I've included sugar in the recipe as it gives a hint of sweetness which is lovely when eating these French toast waffles plain, however you could omit the sugar if you like when serving with super sweet toppings like kaya, chocolate sauce, maple or golden syrup. Likewise, omit the sugar and add a pinch of salt if you prefer your waffles to be more neutral.

Ingredients

Batter

  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) milk
  • ¼ tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Waffle

  • 3-4 slices white bread medium thick slices, crusts removed
  • Squirt of vegetable oil for waffle maker

Instructions

  • Preheat your waffle maker according to the instructions.
  • In the meantime, combine the batter ingredients and beat well.
  • When the waffle maker is ready, spray with vegetable oil if needed, then dip each piece of bread into the batter, turning over a few times to let the egg mixture soak in, before transferring to the waffle machine. The aim is for the egg to soak in a little but not to completely saturate the bread.
  • Cook according to your waffle maker – ours takes 3-4 minutes to cook through and create a beautiful golden brown surface. You may need to experiment with your waffle maker to find the ideal heat settings and times.
  • When ready, remove carefully from the waffle maker, drench with your chosen sauce.
  • Eat while hot!

Save for later:

French Toast Waffles on Kavey Eats (2)

You may also enjoy these waffle recipes:

I hope you give my French Toast Waffles a go! I’d love to hear about your favourite toppings.

Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!
41 Comments to "French Toast Waffles & Home Made Kaya | A Tribute to Hong Kong’s Cha Chaan Teng Cafes"

  1. kaveyeats

    Thanks, if you have an electric waffle machine they are a really quick and mess-free way of making French toast and I love the extra ratio of crispy edges!

    Reply
  2. Kevin Chambers-Paston

    I’ve never come across Kaya before but now I can’t wait to try it. I need friends like Diana in my life!

    Excellent idea to use the waffle maker; I love french toast but often worry about the amount of fat it absorbs when frying so I bet this is a much healthier alternative!

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    Well, we do put a little oil into the batter to ensure it doesn’t stick and to help the edges get a little crisp, but you do have more control.

    Reply
  3. Jane

    Oh good grief woman, what are you doing to me??! Not only am I badly craving waffles now (& I must be the only food blogger that doesn’t own a waffle machine) but I now crave Kaya, that I’ve never even heard of before! 😀

    Reply
  4. Katie

    Wow, what a fun idea to use a waffle iron to make French toast. I have never heard of that or kaya! Thanks for the fun read.

    Reply
  5. Ceri Jones

    I’ve had french toast before, and waffles too – but not together – this is genius! Will be getting my waffle maker out soon to have a go!

    Reply
  6. Helen

    What a great idea! I have to admit to being quite boring and only using our waffle maker to make waffles (I know – how dull!) but I’m very tempted to give this a go. It would be a great quick waffley treat when you don’t have the time (or inclination) to whip up the batter, too.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    I love making other kinds of dishes in mine too — the rösti -like potato waffles work very well!

    Reply
  7. Dahn

    Oh I love French toast, I have made several versions but I have never made it with bean paste in the batter, I will have to try that.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    I love vanilla bean paste, to me it’s just like using freshly scraped beans from a pod, but easier and less faffy.

    Reply
  8. Michelle

    I live in Malaysia, and kaya is really popular in Singapore! I have never actually tried it. This looks like a great use for it!

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    Oh wow, really? Get some locally made in the traditional way and do a comparison! Mostly it’s factory made and sold in the shops these days from what I understand.

    Reply
  9. kaveyeats

    Perfect! These are great as you can, of course, serve them with whatever waffle / french toast toppings you like!

    Reply
  10. Andrea

    Oh man you basically mixed both of my favorite breakfast recipe together and made my dream come true. This looks amazing. I am loving these french toast waffles. YUM!

    Reply

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