Purim fritters, aka Queen Esther’s Toast (aka French toast!)

Classic French Toast gets a Royal upgrade! Queen Esther’s Toast, also called Purim fritters, is a sweet and festive Springtime treat.

While I love a good hamantaschen – and who doesn’t? – it’s good sometimes to try something a bit different when it comes to Purim food.

I had heard of something called ‘Queen Esther’s Toast’ and my interest was piqued. In digging through the back story of this delicious dish, I went from the tables of Victorian and Edwardian London to the Jewish homes of pre-expulsion Spain.

Historical origins

Gil Marks, in the Purim entry in the Encyclopaedia of Jewish Food, states that, “many Sephardic families have a custom of preparing revanadas de parida (French toast) for the occasion renamed ‘Queen Esther’s Toast’.”

But what is revanadas de parida? Is it really just ordinary French toast?

Yes and no. María José Sevilla, in Delicioso: A History of Food in Spain, writes,

“Torrijas, also known as rebanadas or fritas de parida, were prepared by the Sephardim to celebrate the birth of a child, especially if it was a boy (rebanadas are slices of bread, and parida is a woman who has just given birth). Torrijas are still made today with slices of stale bread soaked in milk, coated with beaten egg, fried in olive oil, dipped in sugar syrup or honey, and sprinkled with cinnamon.”

The fritters were prepared for new mothers because, according to María Paz Moreno, in Madrid: A Culinary History, “it was believed that, since the [revanadas] were soaked in milk, they would increase milk production to nurse the newborn.”

Ancient French Toast

The idea of soaking stale bread in milk and/or egg and then frying is as old as the hills. An ancient Roman recipe from the Apicus cookbook (1st Century CE), gives the following instructions:

“Break fine white bread, crust removed, into rather large pieces, which soak in milk and beaten eggs. Fry in oil, cover with honey and serve.”

Similar dishes are found in traditions around the world, as a way for thrifty cooks to turn leftover bread into a tasty breakfast or dessert dish. The classic British name for this dish is ‘Poor Knights of Windsor’. However these days it’s more commonly known as French toast.

In France of course, they call it something else! There it’s know as Pain Perdu, which means ‘forgotten bread’ and hints at the recycled nature of the main ingredient.

Modern torrijas

Although the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, they left their culinary legacy. Torrijas are still pretty popular in Spain, according to this article in Saveur.

Interestingly, torrijas are a seasonal phenomenon, appearing during the Christian period of Lent – a span of 40 days during Spring, directly preceding Easter. This is of course the same season of the year during which the festival of Purim occurs. Coincidence?!

The first written reference to torrijas is by the Spanish composer, poet and playwright Juan del Encina in his Cancionero, published in 1496. So which came first, torrijas or Queen Esther’s Toast? Who knows?!

Bread fritters, Purim fritters, French toast

The earliest recipe I’ve found in a Jewish cook book is for Bread Fritters, in An Easy And Economical Book of Jewish Cookery, written by Estrella Atrutel in 1874.

Sadly the book does not suggest particular dishes for particular festivals, and as such doesn’t explicitly tie these bread fritters to the celebration of Purim. However an almost identical recipe appears in Dainty Dinners and Dishes for Jewish Families (1907) under the name Purim Fritters.

Recipes for Purim fritters were also appearing in American Jewish cookbooks. A recipe for ‘Queen Esther’s Bread’ appeared in The Carolina Housewife in 1847 – possibly the earliest printed Jewish recipe in the USA, according to Abigail Carroll in Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal (2013).

Additionally Joan Nathan writes that, “a recipe for Purim fritters appears in Jennie June’s Cookbook of 1866, and it was copied as Queen Esther’s toast in the National Cookery Book 10 years later.”

Putting the French into French toast

Both British recipes mentioned above call for French rolls, which are de-crusted, sliced and soaked in milk. The soaked slices are then dipped in beaten egg and fried, and served with clarified sugar – a sort of clear syrup. The only difference is that one comes sprinkled with cinnamon and the other with hundreds and thousands.

Florence Greenberg (1947) also has a recipe for Purim Fritters, which she has made parve by omitting the milk. She also uses French bread – I do wonder if it’s the choice of bread which ultimately gave this dish its common English name of ‘French toast’.

I should probably note that what these recipes call ‘French rolls’ are not the same as what we call ‘French bread’ today, i.e. baguette. They are instead a soft, white bread, actually quite similar to challah. I suggest using challah, brioche, or any sweet and fluffy white bread of your choice.

New method – new results!

Whenever I’ve made French toast in the past, I’ve beaten the eggs and milk together and soaked the bread in this mixture before frying. All the recipes for Purim fritters and Queen Esther’s toast however, say to soak in milk and then simply dip in egg and fry.

So, I diligently followed their lead, and used this second method. I was quite surprised that the resulting French toast was actually quite different to what I was used to!

The Queen Esther’s toast method produces a soft, creamy interior to the French toast – a totally different texture than I’d had before. It was lovely, almost custardy, and contrasted pleasantly with the fried exterior. My daughter Kipper (chief taste tester) was also very surprised by this textural difference. Ultimately, she wasn’t sure which way she preferred, but she did polish off several Purim fritters with gusto!

As well as being softer inside, the fritters also puffed up more than ‘regular’ French toast during frying. Sadly, they did deflate as they cooled. Still delicious though!

Save the crusts!

One thing all the old recipes seem to agree on is that you should cut the crusts off the bread. Florence Greenberg even suggests using a round cutter to stamp out circles from the soft interior of the slice of bread. This will ensure your finished fritters are all evenly sized and uniform in shape.

If, like me, you can’t bear avoidable food waste, and idea of discarding the crusts is anathema, here are some suggestions of ways to use them:

• Blitz the crusts and any other offcuts to produce breadcrumbs. These can be frozen and used whenever you need them for coatings, in pudding recipes, treacle tart etc.
• Chop the crusts finely and add to a crumble topping for a fruity dessert.
• Cut crusts into small cubes and fry with olive oil and herbs/garlic to make tasty croutons for soups and salads.
• Toast strips of crust in the oven and use these ‘bread chips’ to scoop up humous, dips etc.
• Chop the crusts into bits and add to a bread pudding or breakfast strata.

Why Queen Esther’s Toast?

The one puzzle I haven’t been able to solve at all is why this tasty dish of fried, sweetened, egg-soaked bread has become associated with Queen Esther.

Most Purim foods are associated with Haman. It is traditional to destroy our enemy by consuming him – as with these Lebkuchen Hamohns (gingerbread Hamans), or with the various Haman’s ear cookies and so on.

Some people have the tradition to eat vegetarian foods on Purim, in recognition of Esther’s vegetarian diet whilst resident in Achashverosh’s palace. Legend has it that since the food in the palace was not kosher, Esther ate only vegetarian food to ensure that she didn’t consume anything treif (forbidden). This delicious French toast definitely falls into the vegetarian category. However I do wonder if it was ever eaten in Persia in the 5th Century BCE.

The only other explanation I’ve come up with is that rebanadas de parida are traditionally associated with women, albeit women who have just given birth. Although Esther does not give birth in the Purim story, she is a strong woman and an important female character. So making this traditional womanly dish in her honour is not too much of a stretch.

If anyone has any more concrete ideas about how these tasty French toast fritters came to be attached to Queen Esther, please let me know!

Ingredients in French toast / Purim fritters

Without further ado, let’s make some Queen Esther’s Toast!

This delicious French toast recipe has only a few basic ingredients. It’s an excellent way to turn slightly stale bread into a wonderful breakfast treat!

To make a breakfast fit for a queen, you will need:

• Best white bread, challah (or similar), ideally slightly stale
• Milk, or a non-dairy alternative
• Eggs
• Oil or clarified butter for frying – butter gives the better flavour but oil is parve, so take your pick
• Toppings! Traditionally this would have been sugar syrup, cinnamon, hundreds and thousands (sprinkles) or a shake of fine sugar. I just dusted with icing sugar, as you can see in the photographs.

How to make classic French toast

To make your delicious Purim fritters, simply follow these easy steps:

1. Slice the bread (if it isn’t already sliced) and cut off the crusts. Cut each slice in half so it’s easier to handle in the pan later.
2. Pour the milk into a large shallow dish and add the bread slices. Turn them after about a minute and leave them to soak up all the milk.
3. Beat the eggs.
4. Dip each slice of soaked bread into the egg on both sides. Allow the excess egg to drip off and then gently place into a hot, oiled pan.
5. Cook the first side for about 2-3 minutes, then turn.
6. Cook the second side for a further 2-3 minutes until the toast is golden brown on both sides.

A historic Purim breakfast

Although I’m not sure when Purim fritters were originally intended to be served, I plan to make this fancy French toast for our festival breakfast.

Although several of the historic recipes suggest serving the fritters cold, I prefer them warm, fresh from the pan. Serve each slice as it is fried, and let diners help themselves to toppings at the table.

I hope you’ll enjoy these tasty Purim bread fritters! Happy Purim!

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📖 Recipe

More delicious egg-based recipes

If you’re looking for a savoury egg-and-bread based dish, why not try flower toast aka egg-in-the-basket. Or a brunch favourite that’s perfect for dipping, like aubergine shakshuka or mushroom shakshuka.

Other delicious egg-based recipes include:

• Easy vegetable crustless quiche
• Cheese and onion omelette muffin bites
• Stuffed eggs with olives
• The full Jewish breakfast or delicious Israeli breakfast

You can also see ALL of my Purim recipes by clicking here.