fresh berry coulis blueberry, raspberry, strawberry or mixed berry
Creamy yoghurt:
½ cup Devon cream
½ cup plain Greek yoghurt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
zest from 1 lemon
Takes ,
serves 4.
Instructions
Prepare bread: Slice challah into 1- to 1½-inch slices. Leave the bread on the cutting board to dry out while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Prepare sugar and spice mix, if using: Place spices in grinder and zip to grind. Add 1 teaspoon of ground spices to sugar, stir to combine. Try then add more to taste. Stir again then spill onto a large plate.
Prepare creamy yogurt, if using: Place Devon cream and yogurt into a small bowl. Add sugar and lemon zest then cream together using a hand mixer. Cover and refrigerate until use.
Prepare egg batter: Place eggs in a medium-sized liquid measure or bowl. Add honey, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and whisk to combine, making sure there are no streaks of egg white within the mixture. Add the milk and cream and whisk again to combine. Pour the egg mixture into a pie plate or shallow dish.
Cook the French toast: Preheat oven to 250°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Bring a large non-stick skillet to temperature on moderate heat.
Place 2 slices of bread into the egg mixture letting it soak for about 2 minutes. Flip the bread and soak the other side for 2 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of butter to the hot skillet and melt, then add 1 teaspoon of oil and stir or move pan to combine. Add the soaked bread and cook for 2 minutes on each side until nicely browned. Total cook time will be 4 minutes. Place the cooked French toast on the sheet pan and keep it warm in the oven. Fry the remaining soaked bread slices, wiping the pan and adding new butter and oil each time.
For regular French toast: Serve hot with butter, maple syrup, and fresh berries.
For upgraded French toast:
Remove warm cooked French toast to your work surface. Increase oven temperature to 375°F. Transfer the cooked pieces of bread onto the plate with the sugar and spice mixture. Flip the bread to coat each side. Return bread to parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Once all of the bread is transferred to the baking sheet, bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
Serve hot with a generous dollop of creamy yogurt and a drizzle of fresh berry coulis. Sprinkle mixed berries around the toast.
Perfect French Toast Recipe
Ingredients
1 challah loaf, 8 slices
½ cup whole milk
½ cup 35% cream
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch of nutmeg
½ teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons butter
4 teaspoons canola, vegetable or corn oil
To serve:
butter
pure maple syrup
assorted fresh berries
Upgrades:
Sugar and spice mixture:
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon star anise
1 tablespoon allspice
fresh berry coulis blueberry, raspberry, strawberry or mixed berry
Creamy yoghurt:
½ cup Devon cream
½ cup plain Greek yoghurt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
zest from 1 lemon
Directions
Prepare bread: Slice challah into 1- to 1½-inch slices. Leave the bread on the cutting board to dry out while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Prepare sugar and spice mix, if using: Place spices in grinder and zip to grind. Add 1 teaspoon of ground spices to sugar, stir to combine. Try then add more to taste. Stir again then spill onto a large plate.
Prepare creamy yogurt, if using: Place Devon cream and yogurt into a small bowl. Add sugar and lemon zest then cream together using a hand mixer. Cover and refrigerate until use.
Prepare egg batter: Place eggs in a medium-sized liquid measure or bowl. Add honey, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and whisk to combine, making sure there are no streaks of egg white within the mixture. Add the milk and cream and whisk again to combine. Pour the egg mixture into a pie plate or shallow dish.
Cook the French toast: Preheat oven to 250°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Bring a large non-stick skillet to temperature on moderate heat.
Place 2 slices of bread into the egg mixture letting it soak for about 2 minutes. Flip the bread and soak the other side for 2 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of butter to the hot skillet and melt, then add 1 teaspoon of oil and stir or move pan to combine. Add the soaked bread and cook for 2 minutes on each side until nicely browned. Total cook time will be 4 minutes. Place the cooked French toast on the sheet pan and keep it warm in the oven. Fry the remaining soaked bread slices, wiping the pan and adding new butter and oil each time.
For regular French toast: Serve hot with butter, maple syrup, and fresh berries.
For upgraded French toast:
Remove warm cooked French toast to your work surface. Increase oven temperature to 375°F. Transfer the cooked pieces of bread onto the plate with the sugar and spice mixture. Flip the bread to coat each side. Return bread to parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Once all of the bread is transferred to the baking sheet, bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
Serve hot with a generous dollop of creamy yogurt and a drizzle of fresh berry coulis. Sprinkle mixed berries around the toast.
Perfect French Toast Recipe
5 / 5. 4
Flavourful egg bread slices soaked in a milk, cream, and egg mixture, then fried golden brown and crispy…
What is the secret to making good French toast? This PERFECT FRENCH TOAST RECIPE!
FRENCH TOAST; whenever I say those two words, friends and family get excited. After all, there’s something so comforting about thick slices of egg-soaked bread cooked in a hot skillet, making the outside golden and crispy while its custard-like inside stays soft and rich. Getting this recipe right involved overtime in the test kitchen, but with weekend guests volunteering as taste testers, the process worked like a charm. The end result; this PERFECT FRENCH TOAST RECIPE we know you’ll be making, and enjoying, again and again.
Here are some of the key questions we get about FRENCH TOAST:
What’s the secret to getting that rich custard flavour?
How do I avoid getting burned edges?
What’s the trick to prevent undercooked centres?
How do I get fluffy centres?
Now, before we explain how to make the best French toast, know that this post is a two-for-one special; part one is a step-by-step guide, and the second part breaks down how to take the flavours and presentation from simple to amazing. Entre nous, it’s all very, very good!
Real quick, please remember to PIN this recipe on a favourite Pinterest board and SHARE it with friends. We also appreciate seeing pics whenever you make our recipes, so use #weekendatthecottage when you post your photos on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks for sharing with the world!
Who’s ready for a PERFECT FRENCH TOAST RECIPE? Let’s go!
INGREDIENTS
Repeat visitors to WATC may experience a bit of déjà vu looking at the ingredients needed to make PERFECT FRENCH TOAST; the pic is almost identical to the ingredients we used to craft a similar recipe for PAIN PERDU. However, this one uses a dense type of bread, more eggs, plus honey instead of brown sugar and an equal quantity of milk and 35% cream. These little tweaks all combine to create something very tasty. Fair warning: when you go to enjoy, you’ll want to eat this dish slowly and savour every single bite. Yum!
THE BREAD
We tested this recipe using everything from sliced white bread and crusty rye to French baguette and sourdough bread. In the end, the best bread to use was CHALLAH, a rich, slightly sweet bread made with flour, eggs, oil, yeast and honey. This bread works perfectly in this application as the centre of the bread is slightly firm – ideal for soaking up the egg mixture. The outside of the bread is also great because it’s not too crusty or chewy. Brioche will also work well in a pinch.
Additional tips regarding our PERFECT FRENCH TOAST RECIPE are to purchase the loaf of bread and slice it by hand when you’re ready to make the dish; cut slices 1- to 1½-inches thick to create those pillowy, cloud-like fluffy centres; and leave the sliced bread out on the cutting board to dry out a bit, yielding crispier slices of French toast.
EGG CUSTARD
Three key components are the secret to creating a rich and flavourful egg mixture that turns soft as custard when cooked. First, it’s about the eggs to cream / milk ratio; 1 egg to every ¼ cup of liquid, and mix equal parts cream and milk. So for this post (8 slices of bread), we whisked 4 eggs into a cup of liquid, ½ cup of 35% cream plus ½ cup of whole milk.
The second key component is to use honey in the mixture instead of granulated or dark brown sugar. The honey melts into the eggs perfectly, giving the mixture that custard flavour. Last thing is to whisk the eggs well before adding the cream and milk, preventing egg white streaks when the toast cooks and giving the centres a soft, silky texture.
SKILLET AND TEMPERATURE
Using the correct skillet set at the correct temperature works wonders in this recipe. We suggest using a non-stick skillet or non-stick griddle for this PERFECT FRENCH TOAST RECIPE. Cast iron and stainless pans caused the toast to stick and created those dreaded burnt edges. We’ve listed purchase links for non-stick pan options down below; buy one and say goodbye to burnt edges forever!
Regarding the best temperature to pan fry or griddle cook this FRENCH TOAST, we think medium heat, typically between 350°F and 375°F works best. Leave the toast to cook for 2 minutes per side, a total time of 4 minutes. This will yield that rich golden brown colour we so love, plus it ensures cooked centres.
TO SERVE
We’re always cool with you putting your own twist on our recipes to make it your own. Whether you’re tweaking ingredients or finessing the way you serve it, we love knowing you’re enjoying it just the way you like it. So with our PERFECT FRENCH TOAST RECIPE, feel free to enjoy it with whipped cream and sliced fruit, sprinkle it with sugar, spread on some jam, or just have it plain with nothing at all.
But, and this is me telling it like it is, there’s something exceedingly perfect about a slice of French toast, fresh from the skillet, hit with a knob of soft butter then drizzled with pure maple syrup, maybe a few berries sprinkled on top for good measure. Seriously, it might very well be one of the top ten breakfast and brunch creations of all time. Enjoy it as is!
THE UPGRADE
And then we were like, but what could we do to elevate a perfected classic French toast recipe? Here are a few suggestions to take this from simple to amazing:
SUGAR AND SPICE
Hats off to my friend Heather Lynn who planted the seeds for this finishing touch when she sugared and spiced up this recipe. First, you grind up star anise and allspice then stir it up with granulated sugar. Flip the cooked French toast slices in the sugar and spice mix to coat.
OVEN BAKE
After you’ve added that heady sugar and spice mix, bake the French toast slices in a 375°F oven until they plump up and the outside gets extra crispy.
BERRY SYRUP
Next up, a super simple MIXED BERRY COULIS that we made for this recipe using raspberries only. It but can also be crafted with strawberries, blackberries, blueberries or a mixed berry concoction – delicious!
CREAMY YOGURT
Who knew Devon cream, thick Greek yoghurt, lemon and sugar would be so fabulous with homemade French toast? We did! Wait until you take that first bite and get the subtle sweetness of the spices, plus the richness of the cream and yogurt and then the pop of fresh berries, sublime.
FINAL TOUCH
I love serving this upgrade with a side bowl of even more fresh berries. Also works with a cup of strong coffee and some O.J.
This PERFECT FRENCH TOAST RECIPE is yours for the making. Enjoy!
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Ingredients
1 challah loaf, 8 slices
½ cup whole milk
½ cup 35% cream
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch of nutmeg
½ teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons butter
4 teaspoons canola, vegetable or corn oil
To serve:
butter
pure maple syrup
assorted fresh berries
Upgrades:
Sugar and spice mixture:
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon star anise
1 tablespoon allspice
fresh berry coulis blueberry, raspberry, strawberry or mixed berry
Creamy yoghurt:
½ cup Devon cream
½ cup plain Greek yoghurt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
zest from 1 lemon
Directions
Prepare bread: Slice challah into 1- to 1½-inch slices. Leave the bread on the cutting board to dry out while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Prepare sugar and spice mix, if using: Place spices in grinder and zip to grind. Add 1 teaspoon of ground spices to sugar, stir to combine. Try then add more to taste. Stir again then spill onto a large plate.
Prepare creamy yogurt, if using: Place Devon cream and yogurt into a small bowl. Add sugar and lemon zest then cream together using a hand mixer. Cover and refrigerate until use.
Prepare egg batter: Place eggs in a medium-sized liquid measure or bowl. Add honey, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and whisk to combine, making sure there are no streaks of egg white within the mixture. Add the milk and cream and whisk again to combine. Pour the egg mixture into a pie plate or shallow dish.
Cook the French toast: Preheat oven to 250°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Bring a large non-stick skillet to temperature on moderate heat.
Place 2 slices of bread into the egg mixture letting it soak for about 2 minutes. Flip the bread and soak the other side for 2 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of butter to the hot skillet and melt, then add 1 teaspoon of oil and stir or move pan to combine. Add the soaked bread and cook for 2 minutes on each side until nicely browned. Total cook time will be 4 minutes. Place the cooked French toast on the sheet pan and keep it warm in the oven. Fry the remaining soaked bread slices, wiping the pan and adding new butter and oil each time.
For regular French toast: Serve hot with butter, maple syrup, and fresh berries.
For upgraded French toast:
Remove warm cooked French toast to your work surface. Increase oven temperature to 375°F. Transfer the cooked pieces of bread onto the plate with the sugar and spice mixture. Flip the bread to coat each side. Return bread to parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Once all of the bread is transferred to the baking sheet, bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
Serve hot with a generous dollop of creamy yogurt and a drizzle of fresh berry coulis. Sprinkle mixed berries around the toast.
