Honey Butter Toast

Inspired by the Honey Butter Toast at Arôme Bakery, this Honey Butter Toast recipe is a sweet and simple breakfast that certainly more than the sum of its parts! It’s made using only five ingredients and ready in less than 30 minutes, meaning it’s something you should make today!

Exploring local bakeries was something I should have done more of when I lived in London. Had I visited Arôme Bakery in London earlier in my life, I would’ve experienced this honey butter toast earlier, and had I experienced it earlier, I would’ve shared it with you earlier.

Ah, well. Better late than never.

What is Honey Butter Toast

Honey butter toast is a sweet breakfast recipe. It’s made by covering thick bread slices with a brown sugar, honey, and butter mixture, and then baking it all together. The honey-butter mixture is made up of only three ingredients, and the dish can be prepared in as little as 30 minutes. It’s perfect for a weekend brunch.

Origins – Arome Bakery

While the recipe has really gained traction after going viral on TikTok and other social media channels, the original version of this sweet breakfast is believed to be that of Arôme Bakery, a Japanese-style bakery located in London, England. While the recipe is similar to Shibuya Toast (a honey toast recipe popular in the Shibuya region of Japan, honey butter toast is different enough to be its own recipe). 

Ingredients

• Thick slices of bread
• Unsalted butter, softened
• Brown sugar
• Honey
• Salt
• Sea salt

How to make Honey Butter Toast

This recipe comes together with very little work (my favorite type of recipe). Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper. 

In a mixing bowl, mix the softened butter, brown sugar, honey and salt until combined, creating a sweet paste (yes, totally fine to sneak a few bites for yourself).

Spread the honey butter mix over your bread. Make sure to generously coat both sides of the bread as well as around the edges. Repeat for all the slices. The amount of honey butter spread to use on each slice of bread will depend on exactly how big/thick your bread slices are.

Arrange the bread on your prepared baking tray, and bake for 20 minutes (until golden brown), flipping them halfway. Remove from the oven and let the honey butter toasts cool for 10 minutes. Add a pinch of sea salt, and enjoy warm!

Tips

What kind of bread to use

For best results, you want a thick slice of a milk bread. Shokupan (Japanese milk bread) is ideal, and what Arôme Bakery uses. Shokupan bread is delicious, but can be a little more challenging to find. Brioche bread is another excellent option, and failing that a soft sourdough works just fine.

I would steer clear of breads with a very thick crust (think: French baguette).

What kind of brown sugar is best

What sort of brown sugar you use is mostly up to you. If you like a lighter flavor, opt for a light brown sugar, and if you prefer that molasses-flavor, opt for dark brown sugar. I’ve tested this with a few different brown sugars, and all turn out great. Personally, my least favorite option was turbinado.

Soft butter will make your life easier

Allow your butter to soften before mixing it with the honey sugar. I know this usually means a little advance prep, but stirring softened butter is a much easier task than trying to combine butter that’s still cold and solid.

Let it rest

Make sure to let the toast cool once you take it out of the oven. The honey butter mixture will be very hot so watch your fingers, and only bite into it once it’s had a chance to cool.

Variation ideas

This is such a simple recipe you can actually use it as a base recipe. Simply build upon it without any changes to make it richer, or sweeter, or fruitier. Here are a few suggestions to get you started: 

Whip up a storm. Simply serve some whipped cream on top. This adds a little moisture and lightness to the recipe. It’s one of my most common additions when making this at home.

Go fruity. Adding a slightly tart fruit-based compote builds a lovely mix of flavors. You want to be careful to not go too sweet, but a blackberry compote, or some balsamic strawberries will work a treat!

Hot ‘n cold. Honey Butter Toast is warm. Mix it with something cold. Think: a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Go sweet. If you like your breakfast sweeter than sugar, there are plenty of ways to make this recipe even sweeter. My two favorite ways to do this are either adding a generous drizzle of maple syrup or opting for a dollop of caramel sauce. Alternatively, you can stay true to its honey toast recipe roots, and add more honey.

Chocolate lovers. Of course, you can always add some melted chocolate over the toast.