Brioche French Toast

Adapted from The Best Recipe by America's Test Kitchen

 

 My cousin invited me to attend an exercise class she was teaching this morning. Rather than go to sweat and work at the class I chose to invite her over AFTER the class to serve her a fattening breakfast instead.

I ran over to Pete's to pick up some eggs and while I was there I came across a beautiful loaf of brioche. This French bread is made with eggs and sugar. It is very light and fluffy with a slight sweetness. I immediately decided to make French toast with this wonderful bread.

America's Test Kitchen is a group of chefs and food scientists who test recipes to arrive at the best way of making them. They found that by adding sugar, vanilla and flour to the traditional French toast batter of eggs and milk you have perfectly browned French toast with a custard-like centre. It is truly the best French toast recipe. The recommend using a crusty loaf of bread for French toast. While this is good, the brioche was out of this world. 

Here is what you'll need:

• 1 loaf brioche
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1tsp vanilla
• 2 heaping tbsp flour
• 2-3 tbsp butter for frying

1) Mix the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla together. Slowly whisk in the flour, making sure to beat up any lumps.

2) Cut the brioche diagonally into 1 inch thick slices. Dip them in the batter, making sure it absorbs well into the middle of the slices.

3) Heat a frying pan over medium heat. I used my non-stick frying pan but you can use whatever you have. Put 1/2-1 tbsp butter in the hot pan. Once it is melted, place in 2-3 slices of battered bread, depending on the size of the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until a nice golden brown colour. The final product should be brown on both sides and warm in the middle. Don't let the pan get too hot or the outside will burn while the inside will still be cold.

4) Keep the finished slices in a warm oven while you work on cooking the rest.

We served this with Nova Scotia maple syrup and fresh raspberries. My cousin also brought over a bit of Chevalier triple creamed Brie. The salty creaminess of it combined with the sweet toast was fantastic. Enjoy!