An offshoot of the Croque Monsieur (ham, cheese and toasted bread smothered in Swiss cheese), the French toast BLT is a twist on both the sandwich and classic breakfast favorite.

To most people, the idea of bacon between two pieces of French toast seems appalling, but this version is not the typical sweet bread and meat dish.

The bread is a savory take on French toast since it omits any kind of sweetness in the ingredients. The bread of the French toast BLT has a crispy exterior, yet the combination of the heavy cream and eggs makes it surprisingly fluffy.

The fried bacon gives the sandwich a crunchy saltiness. To finish it off, the spinach and tomato add freshness and some extra bite to this extremely rich sandwich.

You can add alternate ingredients in the batter to give the sandwich some interesting flavors. We added cayenne pepper to give the batter a little heat, but the amount to add is up to you. Other things, such as green onions, onion powder and savory spices can also be thrown into the mix.

This dish would make a great weekend breakfast treat for friends and family or just for yourself. Experiment with garnishes and toppings to make it your own depending on your personal palate. This recipe makes two sandwiches.

French Toast BLT

4 slices of French bread

4 large eggs

3⁄4 cup of heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons of butter Salt and pepper

1⁄2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper (optional)

1 cup of spinach 1 tomato, sliced

6 slices of bacon

Slice the French bread into four 1-inch-thick slices so the bread absorbs more of the batter. The thickness of the bread will also help keep the slice from falling apart while soaking up the mix.

In a bowl, combine the heavy whipping cream, eggs, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and thoroughly mix. Place the slices of bread in a baking dish that is 9-by-13 inches and pour the mixture onto the bread. Allow the bread to soak for 10 minutes and flip it over for another five to 10 minutes.

While the bread is soaking, fry up the bacon to your desired crispiness (if you like limp bacon, well…more power to you). The recipe calls for three slices of bacon per sandwich, but we thought the more bacon, the better.

Place the pieces of bacon on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb the excess grease. Do not throw out the bacon grease because it will be used to fry the french toast. In the same large skillet used for the bacon, melt butter in the bacon grease, then add the soaked bread. Cook the bread until it is crispy and golden brown.

After the bread is cooked, add the toppings. Start with spinach, then tomato and top with bacon. Additional toppings would be tasty but are optional. Some suggestions would be grilled onions, mushrooms, green onion or cheese.

The sandwich can be served open-faced or as a full sandwich. Both options are tasty and filling.

Although the French toast BLT sounds like it would mostly cater to the breakfast crowd, the sandwich is perfect for any time of the day.

Camille Anglo can be reached at [email protected] and Alex Mecredy can be reached at [email protected]