World Cup Party: Viva Brazil (Again!)

Rachel Tepper Paley
·Editor
Updated

A heaping pile of rabanada. Photo credit: florian meyer/Flickr

Although the United States is officially out of the World Cup, the show goes on at this afternoon’s semifinals, with Brazil going head to head with Germany.

But for whom should we cheer? Well, in America, we like to “root, root, root for the home team,” so we shall—with a heaping plate of sweet rabanada, or Brazilian-style French toast.

Rabanada differs from standard French toast in that it’s deep-fried in oil like a churro (rather than sautéed, in a pan). If you’re looking to chow down in time for today’s semi-final, try this quick Food52 recipe, which calls for soaking the bread briefly in a cinnamon-scented mixture of milk, sugar, and honey.

But if you don’t mind eating post-match, we like the looks of this recipe from Chow, which produces a custard-like toast thanks to a several-hour soak in a rich egg-and-condensed-milk mixture.

The only caveat? In Brazil, rabanada is a special treat traditionally served at Christmas time. But Christmas comes every single year, while the World Cup only once every four. You do the math.