There aren’t many recipes that can compete with a breakfast/brunch classic like French Toast - just think about it, the perfect French Toast with crispy edges, a custardy middle, dressed in a delicious mixed berry compote with a drizzle of the sweet ambrosia that is pure maple syrup, and a sprinkling of icing sugar. Sound good? Enough adjectives? Okay, let's eat.
The Perfect French Toast
Finding the perfect French Toast recipe can be daunting. After all, everyone knows how to make French Toast, and more than that it's hard to decide on what one means by perfect French Toast. Perfect for who? Perfect how? Perfect why?
Here's what makes my Perfect French Toast recipe perfect:
- It's easy
- It can be ready in 30 minutes
- It's a perfect base recipe that can be modified, doubled, halved, quartered (…drawn!) as required.
More French toast recipes
Of course, should you want to try one of my more pimped out French Toast recipes, I'd recommend starting with:
- Nutella & Dark Chocolate French Toast (my personal favourite!)
- Hong Kong Style French Toast
- Croissant French Toast
- Baked French Toast
- S’mores French Toast
- Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake
Tips & Tricks
- Good bread, stale bread - you don't have to use a baguette like I've done. You can actually use any bread, but I'd urge you to opt for something like a brioche, or challah bread. And make sure it's a little bit stale! It sounds counterproductive (especially since we're always on the lookout for the freshest ingredients!), but in this case, you want stale bread. The reason being, fresh bread tends to fall apart after being soaked in the custardy batter.
- Plan ahead - Slice your bread, and leave it out the night before to ensure its good and stale when it's time to soak! You can even make your batter ahead of time. In fact, that's exactly what I tell you to do when making my Baked French Toast recipe.
- Patience - sometimes your bread will need to soak a little longer. Let it, don't rush it.
- Baking optional - The baking step is completely optional. If you choose not to bake, you're still going to have a delicious French Toast recipe. It just probably won't be crispy enough on the outside for me to call it the Perfect French Toast!
That's all for today bestie. If you liked this recipe, please be sure to comment below and let me know! Share the post with your friends, and as always please do follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. (Or just sign up for my mailing list at the bottom right of the page)
📖 Recipe
Perfect French Toast - Twice Cooked!
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 delicious brunch for 4 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Recipe for Perfect French Toast with crispy edges, a custardy middle, a berry compote, with a drizzle of pure maple syrup, and a sprinkling of icing sugar.
Ingredients
For the French Toast
- Stale Baguette, cut into 1-1 ½ inch thick slices
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup half and half
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Ground Cinnamon
- Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
- 2 tbsp Honey
- Unsalted butter, for cooking
- Icing Sugar, for dusting
- Pure Maple Syrup, for deliciousness
For the Berry Compote
- ¼ cup Mixed Berries
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
Instructions
For the French Toast:
- (Optional) Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix eggs, half-and-half, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and honey in a small flat bottomed dish.
- Soak baguette slices in the batter (depending on the thickness of your bread and size of your dish, 30 seconds to 1min 30 seconds per side). Remove and keep aside.
- Heat pan to low-medium heat, and coat with butter. Cook the soaked bread for 1-3 minutes per side.
- (Optional) Bake the cooked slices in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
- Serve immediately, dressing with icing sugar, maple syrup, and berry compote.
For the Berry Compote:
- Mix all the ingredients over medium heat, stirring regularly until the mixture reduces to the consistency / flavour you like. (I like mine to reduce a lot as I prefer strong deep flavours, but you do you bestie!)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Category: Breakfast & Brunch
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Rashmita
Gonna try this weekend! Looks yum and easy ?
Riz
Thank you!! I hope you enjoy it!! Please feel free to share a photo of your version 🙂
Jessica Lam
This looks sooo much better than the french toast I’ve been making! Gotta try this out next time instead 😀
Riz
Thanks Jessica!!! I hope you like it, I can’t wait to see your version 🙂
Erika
I made them! I made them!!! and errrrmagahd! THEY”RE SO GOOD!!!
Riz
Oh!! Yaay!!! I’m so glad you liked them!
Nidhi Patel
They look divine, an excellent idea for the upcoming weekend.
Riz
Thanks Nidhi, I hope you enjoy them!!
Shareba
I love the tip of baking the French toast at the end. Mine always turns out softer than I want it to be, but now I can try baking it! Thanks!
Riz
I hope baking the toast helps you find the perfect crunch 🙂
Kimberley Copithorne
I love how simple and easy this is! The pictures make me wish there were a scratch and sniff button!
Riz
Lol! A scratch and sniff button needs to be the next innovation – I was promised Smell-o-vision in the 80s, and I’m still waiting for it!
Megan
Great tips! I’ll have to remember to leave my bread out the night before so it gets good and stale. I usually end up using fresh sandwich bread which is definitely not ideal!
Riz
Thanks Megan! Wishing you the perfect-est of French Toasts going forwards!