Once upon a time, a thousand years ago, I wrote a video game cookbook. Nothing professional, mind you: just a humble collection of recipes inspired by the games that made me hungry, a community project turned personal that I crossed the finish line more out of spite than anything else. At the time, video game cookbooks weren’t much of a thing, though pioneers on sites like Tumblr and SnackOrDie (and later Pinterest and YouTube) paved the way with DIY projects that eventually spawned entire geek cooking and baking channels where players could learn to create facsimiles of game products or sweets, stylized after game objects or characters.
These days I was outnumbered by several kilometers. Baking books or projects like this are no longer hobbyists; you can get official video game cookbooks written by real chefs, centered on famous tasty names like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or the Pokémon series. The Official Fallout Cookbook recently played a big role in the Fallout TV series’ debut on Amazon Prime, with tons of fans whipping up portions of Nuka Cola and Blamco Mac and Cheese to munch on while marathoning the show.
You can even play a board game that requires baking as part of its gameplay, like with Edible Games Cookbook from developer Jen Sandercock. Things have come a long way.
I look back now and see the rise of cooking in video games as part of the larger geekcraft movement of the late 10s, when the Internet was still ruled by novelty and niche items, and the holes that existed in gaming merchandise were filled by hobbyists and artisans on Etsy. These days, I still like to make my own video game food, and it’s a little easier than it used to be, at least in the selection department. Now that crafting and survival games have become so popular, there are a lot more dishes to choose from.
But I still respect the classics. The Sims, for example, is one of those games that often inspires experiments in the kitchen, not so much because the recipes are impressive or difficult, but because I’m always very hungry when I play. Cooking Mastery has 10 levels, and as your Sim levels up, the recipes get more difficult. Ironically, French toast is one of the later recipes the Sims learned about The Sims 3, which baffled me because of how easy the dish was to make. This is really a recipe for beginners. I remember whipping up batches of it when I was seven years old.
To be honest, I don’t remember how the French toast was baked in the oven either; it’s usually food cooked on a griddle or griddle. In The Sims, the characters’ French toast animation shows them placing ingredients in what looks like a full-sized turkey roaster and then placing it in the oven. I don’t know why they do that, because they make other items on the stove. But The Sims is not played to accurately reflect reality.
To that end, here’s an updated recipe from an old fan project of mine, revised with 10 years of improving skills and tastes. I hope you enjoy making your own video game food.
This is not your Sims 3 baked french toast
This recipe is decadent and decidedly less canonical than I’d imagine, as it requires several ingredients that your Sim would probably never have (the original in-game ingredients include two apples and one egg, end of list). However, you can keep things simple by using plain white bread, skipping the fruit syrup (rather a thick layer of frozen butter on the bottom of the pan instead), and using plain milk in the egg mixture.
Ingredients
10-12 slices of bread (you can use white bread, but I like to ‘cheat’ by using flavored bread, specifically Franz’s seasonal fruit varieties like blueberry, lemon cream or apple crisp).
Six fresh, sliced peaches (or 1 can, drained) or 1 ½ cups dried blueberries
1 cup of brown sugar
½ cup butter
2 tablespoons of water
Six eggs
½ cup orange juice
⅓ cup of orange liqueur
½ cup half n half
1 teaspoon of vanilla
¼ teaspoon of salt
Grated peel of about one orange
For the maple rum syrup:
1 cup of honey
1 cup of maple syrup
2 tablespoons of dark rum or whiskey
In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, oil and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, stirring often (about 10 minutes). Pour into a well-oiled 9 x 13 pan and arrange the peaches on top, then place the bread on top of the peaches.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, orange juice, orange liqueur, zest, vanilla, salt, and orange zest. Pour slowly over the bread, then cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
While the French toast is baking, combine the maple rum syrup ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until completely combined. Serve the baked French toast with a serving spoon, garnished with warm syrup and a pinch of cinnamon.