4 fascinating ways to use preserves

Preserves aren't just for your boring morning toast. If natural sugars are your jam, learn about the ways you can use them to perk up dishes in a surprising way.

1. To spruce up store-bought coleslaw, stir in some orange marmalade and toasted chopped almonds.
2. To balance the flavour of tomato sauce, stir in 50 millilitres (1/4 cup) grape jelly for every one litre (four cups) homemade sauce. The sweetness of the jelly helps to balance the acidity of less-than-perfect tomatoes.
3. To make muffins with a surprise inside, spoon 30 millilitres (two tablespoons) muffin batter into each muffin cup. Make an indentation in the muffin batter with the back of a spoon and ladle in five millilitres (one teaspoon) jam, marmalade or preserves. Spoon the remaining batter over the jam in each muffin cup. Bake as directed in the recipe.
4. To make overnight stuffed French toast, cut one loaf Italian bread crosswise into eight to 10 slices that are each about 3.5 centimetres (1 1/2 inches) thick. Cut a slit through the top crust of each slice to form a deep pocket.In a medium bowl, mix together one package (225 gram/eight ounce) cream cheese, 30 millilitres (two tablespoons) confectioners' sugar and two millilitres (half a teaspoon) almond extract.

   Spread the cream cheese mixture equally inside the bread pockets, then spread 125 to 175 millilitres (1/2 to 3/4 cup) strawberry, raspberry or cherry preserves equally inside the pockets, opposite the cream cheese.

Lay the stuffed bread in a single layer in a shallow 1 1/2 litre (six cup) baking dish      (roughly 40 x 25 centimetres/15 x 10 inches). In a medium bowl, combine five eggs, 375 millilitres (1 1/2 cups) light cream or half-and-half, five millilitres (one teaspoon) vanilla extract, 15 millilitres (one tablespoon) confectioners' sugar and a pinch of salt.

Pour evenly over the bread, tilting the pan and swirling the egg mixture to completely saturate the bread. Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, bring the bread to room temperature, then cook in unsalted butter or oil on a griddle until golden brown on both sides, three to five minutes per side. Serve with maple syrup.

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