What is honey toast?
I first had honey toast (also know as brick toast, given the shape, or Shibuya toast, since it originated from Shibuya, Japan) at Shokudo in Hawaii. I wasn’t convinced at first- the name is unassuming, and I could squirt honey out of a plastic bear on a piece of toast at home for much cheaper than $9+. However, this isn’t merely a slice of toast. It’s a box made of toast, filled with toast. Warm, crispy, honey-scented, buttery toast that softens slightly as the ice cream on top melts.
How to make honey toast
The first step to make this honey toast is to get the right kind of bread; it should have sharp corners (not a rounded top like you might see in most grocery shops and bakeries), and not be sliced, like the shape in this shokupan. (You could make your own bread, although full transparency: I have never, and will likely never. I might be sheltering in place, but I’m prioritizing educating myself on how my prior notions and understanding of race weren’t nuanced, and what solutions could be better than our current police, than making my own shokupan). I can find unsliced loaves pretty reliably at Japanese grocery stores in the bakery sections, and occasionally at Chinese markets.
Could you use a rounded loaf of bread? Sure, the only difference is that one of the walls of the box will be rounded. Can you used a sliced loaf of bread? Sure; the toast won’t look quite the same as it would with one big block of toast, but it will still be delicious.
Once you have the bread, you need to hollow out the inside. Set the bread on your cutting board so that the side touching the cutting board is shorter than the sides standing up. Make 4 vertical cuts parallel to the walls of the toast box, keeping a 1 inch border between your cut and the walls/bottom to make sure the box has structure; then gently pry/rip the loosened cube from the bottom, and you have your box! Cut the piece you removed from the box into cubes. The hardest part is over.
Douse everything in honey butter, toast it til crispy, add toppings and serve!
How do I make honey toast faster/easier?
Maybe you’re thinking, it’s a Wednesday afternoon, I’m in need of a mid-day dessert NOW and I don’t care how pretty it looks. You could definitely smear some butter on a piece of soft white bread, drizzle with honey, toast it and top it.
What are good honey toast toppings?
- Ice cream: my one non-negotiable. You could also make an argument for whipped cream, and I wouldn’t argue (that long).
- Fruit: for juicy tartness. I’d use fresh fruit plain, or if you only have frozen or dried fruit, making a quick compote works (microwave the fruit with some water for a few minutes until the fruit is defrosted/rehydrated, then mash it)
- Jam: you could thin out the jam with a little bit of water until it’s drizzleable, and use that instead of fruit or sauce!
- Sauces: a little bit of chocolate or caramel, or even maple syrup!
- Cookies: pirouettes, Pocky, Oreos, or anything crunchy/crispy. These are more for aesthetic than adding needed crunch (since the toast is already crispy), though still fun to add
How do you eat honey toast?
Put your knives away; I can’t tell you how many times a group of friends and I circled a plate of honey toast with only forks and came out victorious.
Is honey on toast good?
YES. Honey drizzled on post-toasted bread is good, but when the honey gets toasted as well, it caramelizes and gets stickier (a good thing!). The bread is all crispy, buttery and sweet, and it gets a little soft from the melty ice cream.
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- 5″ thick unsliced sandwich bread
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 pint blueberries
- 1/4 cup chocolate sauce
- 3 scoops vanilla ice cream
- cookies for decoration
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Set the bread on your cutting board so that the side touching the cutting board is shorter than the sides standing up. Make 4 vertical cuts parallel to the walls of the toast cube, keeping a 1 inch border between your cut and the wall to make sure the box has structure. Make sure that your cut stops 1 inch from the bottom of the toast as well, to make sure the bottom isn't too thin. Gently wiggle this cube out of the box (you may have to gently rip it from the bottom). Cut this cube into bite-sized cubes.
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Combine the butter, honey and vanilla until homogeneous. Spread on the insides of the toast box, and all the cubes.
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Bake the toast box and cubes at 350F for about 8 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. You can do this in your toaster oven if it's big enough (or a conventional oven if using a toaster oven isn't an option).
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Fill the toast box while still warm, layering in the toast cubes and fruit. Add the ice cream and cookies on top, and drizzle with more honey. Serve immediately.
Adapted slightly rom Eugenie Kitchen.
I decorated this honey toast with blueberries, pirouette cookies and matcha Pocky, but feel free to use whatever you’d like!
More Japanese Dessert Recipes
The presentation looks so pretty! Sounds interesting and yummy!
thanks, kim! if you buy a bunch of snacks and cookies and chocolates, it’s bound to look pretty (;
I ate honey toast in SIngapore and thailand and had no idea what to make of it at the time! Thanks for this recipe : ) This looks straight out of the cafes I went to! Delicious!
ahhhh that sounds like so much fun! i’ve just had honey toast in california lol (;
beautifully captured. This is a new recipe to me but i love the clicks and it really inspires me try this out
thanks, priya! (:
WOW that is impressive, Heather! I still haven’t had a Honey box toast yet; the sheer amount of sweets in it intimidates me! Maybe one day I will try making it for a potluck or something! 🙂
oh this definitely isn’t a dessert for one situation (; and if you add more fruit than sweets, it’s healthy, right?!
This honey toast looks super-impressive, Heather! I’ve never had “honey toast” but I do love this presentation, it’s like a gift! I love anything with honey, and still have a bit from last summer’s Farmers’ Market – this would be a perfect use for it!
oooh yes any special honey would be tasty here! it is HONEY toast after all (;
“it’s a box made of toast, filled with toast. ” um my dream right there!! I hadn’t heard of it before but now I know i need it for sure :O
toast me up (; but yeah as soon as i thought of that line, i felt like i hit the toast jackpot.
This is so true. When my father is proud of me he says Outstanding… Mary that’s outstanding, it sounds so formal but it fills my heart with so much joy. I am a very verbally aggressive person so happy to know I’m not alone. OMG did you say a box made of toast?? filled with toast!!!! I can’t wrap my head around it, but my mouth is watering.
awwww 💕 my dad sent me the sweetest email on valentine’s day, and i was crying in a computer lab on campus lol. and yes, TOAST TOAST TOAST. if you like toast, you’ll like this (;
What?! This looks insanely good!!!!!! – http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com
thanks gingi!! (:
I never knew such a thing existed! Thanks for always sharing such exciting, new recipes 🙂 and I appreciate a blunt, verbally aggressive person!! Xoxo
that’s one of the things i love about blogging- i learn so much about food (and life)! if only i had the stomach and metabolism and time to try out all the things (;
At first glimpse, I thought that I can never attempt to make this look so beautiful. But, I think I can work with a loaf of bread. This looks so stunning and professional yet easy to make. I’m gonna try and impress my family:)
i bet there’s tutorials on youtube for building the toast part, and i’m sure your family will think it’s beautiful if you use all the things they like (;
This is so fun! Love the way it’s set up and I do love honey!
thanks, patrick! (:
OMG, this recipe looks delirious!! Hehehehehe 😉
Seriously though, amazing photos and AWESOME recipe!!!! I can’t wait to try this 🙂
delirious just looking at it (; thanks christina!!
Never heard of this dish but it sounds DREAMY! Would need to find a dairy free alternative to the butter which I’m sure can be done.
Thanks so much for sharing.
K
oh for sure! you can use coconut oil (provided that you like the flavor of coconut). you could use any oil or margarine that you like, though i personally prefer the flavor of butter (:
This is so beautiful! I’ve never even heard of this but it looks yummy!
thanks, lisa!
What an impressive looking dessert! Plus it’s easy to make and I love how you can fill the toast box with whatever sweets you want.
yes, it’s super customizable! one of my friends is a chocolate fiend, so i’d probably add a ton of oreos/ferrero rochers/truffles/etc, use chocolate ice cream and drizzle with chocolate sauce if i was making this for her (:
Wow, now this is a show stopper!
it is! the first time i had it, i couldn’t stop staring (and i didn’t know where to start without toppling it! you just need to go for it though).
WHOA!!!!! THIS IS THE prettiest toast I have ever seen before! I am in awe! Who knew one could make sandwich bread look fancy! 😉
haha and this isn’t even the most intense honey toast out there (; there’s ones that tower and have a lot more toppings than this!
Such a pretty little dessert! So elegant!! I love how easy it is to prepare – great photos Heather!
thanks, katherine! (:
I always thought of “interesting” as something good and unique. Oh man, the people that can handle a lot of heat are troopers! Haha, I know I am quite a talker myself. I agree with you that we are shaped by the experiences we face. One thing’s for sure, I was surrounded by negative people that brought me down a bit @__@ But not anymore! Haha.
The honey toast looks so cool! I had it once somewhere in San Gabriel and it is so expensive! It is definitely cheaper to make at home! I love how you made it look so nice!
exquisitely.me
yeah it’s always $8-12ish at cafes and dessert places! and for toast with toppings, that’s not quite worth (even if it is tasty!).
This honey toast is a perfect breakfast idea, Heather. I think I can have this dessert every day. 🙂
oooh this would be such a delicious, decadent dessert (:
This is such a fancy looking toast! I love how you have decked it up with all these interesting and yummy things! So lovely 🙂
thanks, deepika! (:
Real cake it is ! Thank you !
not quite cake, but just as tasty! (;
Holy Heather haha! You just made the dessert of my dreams. I seen these at HK cafes but I was never hungry enough to try this but damn! I think I need to – best part is in the comfort of my pjs! pwahahaha!
haha if you don’t want to go out for it i guess you’ll have to make it at home (; it’s best served when you have a few people to help devour it (it is kind of a behemoth!).
Huh. I can’t count how many times I’ve been to Hawaii and have never seen this!!! Not sure I’d want to sit down to it all, i might prefer a couple of tropical drinks for the calories, but wow! Very cool!
oh i agree – i wouldn’t be able to finish one of these alone! this is definitely more of a sharing dessert than a solo marathon (;
Never heard of this dish but it sounds GREAT! Any alternative for butter in your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
i definitely recommend butter if possible (nothing else has a similar flavor!), but you could sub in coconut oil if you like the flavor of coconut, or a neutral oil if butter or coconut oil doesn’t work for you.
What an interesting and fun recipe! I love the presentation – stunning!
