That £6 loaf of sourdough you queued for 30 minutes for at your local bakery might be the star of your breakfast spread, but what you load on to it deserves just as much attention. I stockpiled Echiré French butter when I was last in France. If you can’t get your hands on that, try the flavoured butters from Sublime. For something naughty, spread Posh Cow’s cinnamon and honey butter or the sticky, sweet medjool date butter from the brilliant London restaurant, Oklava. If it’s a truly indulgent breakfast you’re after, I recommend dulce de leche, though I am warning you, it’s addictive. As for nut butters, I’m an expert. Pip & Nut does the best almond butter, Strazzanti makes an incredible creamy pistachio spread and ManiLife churns up my favourite peanut butter.
Savoury
1. Echiré lightly salted butter (£5.25; frenchclick.co.uk)
The best butter and I don’t care if you disagree. Spread a layer so thick that you leave teeth marks in it.
2. Belazu black olive tapenade (£3.25; belazu.com)
Rich olives blended with capers, garlic and sundried tomatoes. Lovely on dinky crostini drizzled with balsamic.
3. Paiarrop quince paste (£3.45; souschef.co.uk)
In this category because it goes best with cheese. Sweet, fruity and aromatic, load it on little toasts with manchego or Stilton.
4. Potted Welsh rarebit (£13.95; fortnumandmason.co.uk)
The poshest cheese on toast if you can’t be bothered to make rarebit yourself. Spread melted over artisan toast.
5. Odysea aubergine meze (£2.15; sainsburys.co.uk)
A silky smooth blitz of roast aubergines. Swipe pita through it or spread it on bread.
6. Eat 17 bacon jam (£2.99; eat17pantry.co.uk)
This is basically spreadable smoky bacon. Slather on crusty bread or use it to pimp a cheese toastie.
7. Truffle, parmesan and black pepper butter (£4.25; farmison.com)
Upgrade breakfast and have a properly posh slice of toast with truffle butter.
8. ManiLife deep roast crunchy peanut butter (£3; sainsburys.co.uk)
Hands down the best peanut butter in town. Thick and intensely savoury, a little goes a long way.
Sweet
9. Nuccy Hazel Coco Flow (£7.50; nuccy.co.uk)
I’m nuts about this organic hazelnut butter made with Ashwagandha (winter cherry) that promises to clear my mind and fill me up.
10. Posh Cow honey and cinnamon butter (£3.50; poshcowdairy.com)
Toast, bagels, muffins, crackers, hot cross buns, pancakes… This spread makes everything taste delicious.
11. Centaur dulce de leche (£8.99; souschef.co.uk)
This Mexican thick caramel spread should come with a warning. Devilishly good on French toast, bread, pancakes or from the jar.
12. The Estate Dairy medjool date cultured butter (£5; theestatedairy.com)
Sticky, rich, sweet. Made in collaboration with the brilliant Turkish restaurant Oklava.
13. Crosstown x Pip & Nut Cinnamon Scroll almond butter (£3.25; sainsburys.co.uk)
Very, very sweet, but very, very moreish. A little goes a long way, so spread sparingly.
14. Sweet pistachio spread (£11.95; strazzanti.co)
I could eat this by the spoonful. In fact, I have. For those of you with more self-control, put on granary toast or banana bread.
15. Maison della Nocciola dark gianduja cream (£4.30; eataly.co.uk)
This soft, velvety chocolate-hazelnut cream is like spreadable Ferrero Rocher. Very indulgent.
16. Tiptree banoffee spread (£2.95; harveynichols.com)
It really does taste like banoffee pie. Spread lavishly on buttered toast and top with sliced banana.
Dining and Cooking