Charity Craig There are so many foods that pop into our heads when someone says, “Walt Disney World”: churros, Dole Whips, Mickey shaped waffles, and Mickey ice cream bars. Well, there’s another, maybe lesser known crowd pleaser, that’s been a staple to a Disney food menu for many years. It’s their stuffed french toast, Tonga Toast, served at Kona Café or Captain Cook’s at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.
This breakfast delight will cause you to dissolve in a puddle of wonder right in your seat. Don’t plan on sharing, because sharing is not an option. Tonga Toast is stuffed with banana, deep fried, and covered in cinnamon sugar. It’s served with a strawberry compote to dip or pour over the toast, along with a breakfast meat of either bacon or sausage.
So, if you’re looking for a new place to try on your next Disney World Vacation or you just can’t wait to get back to eat more stuffed french toast, be sure to reserve your spot for a Tonga Toast breakfast at the Kona Café, and tell them the Craigs sent you. Ok, maybe don’t tell them we sent you. That would be an awkward moment with your server, but please order the Tonga Toast for us.
Now, this Taste of Disney will transport you right into the Polynesian, and if you close your eyes you can almost believe you’re back at Disney. Almost.
The recipe calls for sourdough bread, but finding square sourdough bread is difficult, and I’m not so handy in the kitchen that I’m going to bake my own bread in a lidded Pullman bread. I mean, just the fact that I’m stuffing my french toast is a huge undertaking for me, so let’s not get too carried away baking my own bread. With that being said, I fudged on the sourdough bread. I used 2 pieces of Texas Toast with banana slices inbetween. And as a word of experience, toast the bread first, otherwise, you’ll be enjoying soggy Tonga Toast.
Also, we don’t have Disney’s strawberry sauce recipe, so we just used a simple recipe to go along with the Tonga Toast recipe.
Either way, this breakfast is a fast favorite in our household. In fact, the kids have already requested it again, and I’ve even made it for lunch, because, well, I can, and yes, I ate a whole toast myself (too bad I didn’t have the Magic Kingdom to walk all the calories off).
- 2 or 4 slices sourdough bread cut 1-inch thick
- 1 banana
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Oil or shortening for frying
- Whipped butter and Maple syrup, if desired
- 1 lb strawberries
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
- Mix sugar and cinnamon.
- Set aside.
- Mix egg, milk and vanilla until well blended.
- Set aside.
- Depending on the size of the bread slices, but a 1-inch pocket in one side of each bread slice.
- Cute bananas in half crosswise, the split each piece lengthwise.
- Remove peel and stuff 2 pieces in each pocket of bread, again depending on size.
- If slices are small, use 4 and stuff one piece of banana in each pocket.
- Heat oil in pan to 350ºF.
- Dip stuffed bread into egg mixture, soaking a few seconds.
- Fry in hot oil until lightly browned, turning to brown both sides, about 3 minutes.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and serve at once.
- If desired, spread with whipped butter and serve with Maple syrup.
- Rinse the strawberries. Cut to remove the hull out of the tops, and cut in half.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, water, and corn starch. Whisk well.
- Add strawberries and mix.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat when the mixture thickens.
- Allow to cool slightly. You can use a masher or blender to puree it.
- The strawberry sauce isn't from the Disney recipe, but we created a simple sauce that can be used with the Tonga Toast.
- You can substitute the sourdough bread with Texas Toast, be sure to toast bread prior to making it.
- Instead, of cutting a pocket in the bread, we simply placed sliced banana between two slices of Texas Toast, soaked in egg mixture, and fried.
Now, this yummy Walt Disney World copy cat Tonga Toast recipe is a keeper. Be sure to pin this recipe for one of those Saturday mornings when you crave a little piece of home. And when you make the recipe, be sure to tag us on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #YohoTasteofDisney, so we can salivate with you.
