Artisanal Toast: A Food Trend You'll Actually Want To Make At Home

Toast topped with beautiful-looking ingredients — from avocado roses to multicoloured cream cheese swirls — moved westward across North America from small restaurants in San Francisco. The trend picked up steam a few years ago, but with the ubiquity of avocado toast, it shows no signs of slowing down. Thankfully, artisanal toast is one of those popular food trends that's easy to make (and Instagram) at home. All you need is your imagination, bread, a toaster and a few ingredients to transformation a humble slice of toast into a whimsical creation. But if you need some inspiration, we've got you've covered.

triple-tested recipe from the Chatelaine Kitchen. This version features sliced tomatoes and tangy quark cheese (it's similar to cottage cheese). But if you don't have those ingredients on hand, simply mash some avocado (a half or whole fruit, depending on how hungry you are) with salt and pepper and slather it on a slice or two of toast. Dress it up with a poached or fried egg to make your mid-morning meal extra filling.

Recipe: Tomato Avocado Toast

The artisanal toast topping choices are endless

Seriously, just take a look in your fridge and pantry and top with whatever you fancy. Some of our favourite combos include lox and cream cheese, beets and goat cheese and asparagus and radish (swap out the matzah for toast in these recipes). Or go the sweet route and attempt to make magical-looking unicorn (or mermaid) toast with cream cheese and natural or artificial food colouring. Sure, these might just be open-faced sandwiches, but who says you can have fun with your food?

Watch: How to make your cupcakes even fancier