Baked Beans on Toast

I must admit. I am never a big fan of baked beans. I think the years of having floury tasting beans in gooey pale tomato sauce over rice when I was growing up quite put me off it. Maybe the brand matters? The local beans are bigger and are not the same as those in found Heinz baked beans which are made of navy beans.

In any case, I was talking to someone about it. He commented that the baked beans (in a pic I took) looked bigger than what he was accustomed to. So being a curious person, that set me off in a flurry of research. I never knew there was so much being written about baked beans :p

I found out the the typical baked beans served in UK is actually navy beans and Heinz blue label is the can to buy. The other Heinz baked beans contained molasses and other variations. The Heinz blue label is vegetarian and only contains tomato sauce.

So I set out to re-create a quintessential British basic breakfast or snack food. Baked beans on toast. It is really simple and took me less than 10 minutes to make.

After googling and finding out more ways to have baked beans, I decided to go with 2 variations. 1. Buttered toast with scrambled eggs and baked beans

2. Buttered toast with melted sliced cheese and baked beans

Ingredients

1 can Heinz blue label baked beans

sliced onions

2 eggs

milk

pepper

grey sea salt

2 slices low fat cheddar cheese (or any cheese you like)

2 slices of thick sliced bread

butter

Method:

1. Heat bread in non-stick pan till it is a bit crispy.

2. Sliced onions. Beat the eggs and add in milk.

3. Remove bread and spread butter on them. Place 2 slices of cheese on 1 slice of bread. Transfer the bread to a toaster oven to melt the cheese and to continue toasting the bread.

4. Melt butter in pan. Add onions till softened. Pour in eggs and scramble the eggs. When it is partially set, sprinkle with sea salt and scramble further. Remove from pan.

5. Pour can of baked beans into pan to heat up.

6. Remove bread from toaster oven and pour baked beans over the toasted bread.

7. Grind pepper over egg and serve.

The trick is to have a thickly buttered toast so that there is a rich underlying taste. I must confess. I still am not a big fan of baked beans. It was not awful and the beans definitely tasted much better than the versions found locally but they did not make me go "wow"!

The French Bakery @ East Coast Road

If you live in the East Coast area, you would probably have stumbled upon The French Bakery. It is a bit of a misnomer as it is not a boulangerie as you would have thought, with no scent of freshly baked bread wafting out from the ovens. Instead it sells cakes and simple pastries such as butter croissants, danishes and chicken pies. There is a tiny selection of bread for sale but they are not the highlight of the store.

It is not a cafe so dining in is not an option. There are a couple of tables and chairs for you to wait though.

148 East Coast Road is in between Joo Chiat Road and East Coast Road, across from Glory and near Savory Fare.

The array of baked sweet goods at the display counter. Prices are reasonable.

The savory baked section with the pies and puffs and rolls and tarts.
Close up of the baked goods.
Cheese Twist - this is simply yummy. Instead of the usual cheddar, they use emmental which has a piquant taste which gives a bit of kick to the crispy and flaky pastry.

The humble butter croissant is excellent too. It is buttery, light, flaky and slightly sweet. It will be fantastic with a cup of cafe au lait or spread with jam. It has been a long time since I had such gorgeous croissant. I wish I live nearer to buy this for breakfast.

The chicken pie is quite average to me. It is reminiscent of the old-school style of chicken pie (but with better crust), so you are in for a treat if you have a hankering for such fare. It is generous with the filling so every bite will have a bit of chicken and veggies.

Lemon cheese tart sounds like a strange combination but it actually works. The slight tartness of the lemon and the savory cheese make it quite refreshing and not too rich. It goes down very well with a pot of tea.
The chocolate fudge cake is one of the bestsellers. I tried it cold and it was still moist. The chocolate sponge cake is light and covered with a thin coat of chocolate fudge. It is not too sweet and it will actually be great to have it warm and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Another store favorite is the creme brulee. Somehow I am not too impressed with it. It is too eggy for my liking, plus I like my creme brulee to have a thin layer of burnt sugar so that I can crack it with my spoon. To me, that is the fun of having a creme brulee. The hard top layer hiding the soft smooth creamy egg custard. This version is just an egg custard which is not too sweet. To each his own.

Petit fours. These sizes are created for tasting purposes and when they cater for functions. The usual size is much bigger. From top row, left to right:

1. Snow white berry - It is milky creamy with tangy berries in it.

2. Rum chestnut - this reminded me a little of mont blanc. It is sweet like yam and has a strong alcoholic taste. Perfect for those who like a bit of liquor in their dessert.

Middle row, left to right.

3. Raspberry mango - It is sweet and sour, also another store favorite.

4. Passionfruit delight - tangy sweet mousse over a light chocolate sponge base. I like this better.

Bottom row, left to right:

5. Cool lemon chocolate - dark chocolate mousse with lemon. I like it.

6. Icy royale - dark chocolate mousse with a bittersweet aftertaste.

7. Tiramisu - It has a strong coffee taste but the true taste is hard to discern. Maybe because the portion is too tiny to tell.

The usual size of the Icy Royale. This is my absolute favorite.

A French Bakery cannot be without its financier. Over here, there are two versions. Original and green tea flavor. I like both. The green tea version is not too sweet and both have a slight nuttiness in the teacake. I would like this over a madeleine or canele with a cup of tea.

Rum Bola. It is like rum ball, but it is so much more than the stale tasting rum balls sold at the traditional bakeries.

The rum bola is very rich, moist and nutty with rum permeating throughout the small delightful treat. Very nice!

Location

The French Bakery

148 East Coast Road

Tel: 6344 6826

Note: This is an invited review.