Fancy French Toast
From now on, I want all of my future French toasts to be brioche French toast. One bite will turn you into a French toast snob too; my version has truly gourmet flavor, a subtly caramelized and step-above-classic French toast exterior, and a moist, never soggy interior. This recipe is adapted from my classic French toast recipe. You can, of course, use brioche for that recipe just as well as regular white bread, but I really like this modified recipe specifically for using with such an enriched bread (this egg mixture absorbs into the brioche very well).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Requires the same amount of effort as regular French toast, but produces gourmet results. Orange zest adds a new, unexpected, but so fitting dimension of flavor that’ll have you going for seconds. Simple, but great for dressing up. This recipe tastes great on its own, but it can also be enhanced with raspberry sauce, homemade whipped cream, or macerated strawberries. Carefully outlined technique for slices that are always perfectly cooked and never soggy.
What You Need
With two key exceptions, the ingredients list will look much like what you’d probably expect for any old French toast recipe (but this isn’t just any old recipe).
Brioche bread. Brioche is an enriched bread, and it works beautifully for French toast. If you can’t find brioche, then you could use a similar enriched bread like challah or milk bread. Make sure to slice yours nice and thick, at least 1″ (2.5cm) will give you a nice hearty slab that appropriately can absorb the custard. Eggs. You’ll need 4 large eggs which we’ll whisk with the rest of the ingredients. Since you’ll be combining these with cold dairy, it’s fine if you use eggs straight out of the fridge (rather than room temperature, which I recommend with so many other recipes). Half and half. Paired with the eggs, this forms our custard base. If you don’t have half and half, you can substitute equal parts milk and heavy cream. Vanilla. A splash rounds out the flavor of our custard. Homemade vanilla extract would work great here! Orange zest. This ingredient is absent from classic French toast, but I found it elevates the flavor and makes this brioche french toast taste gourmet (fitting for such a rich bread). You could skip this if you really want to, but I recommend trying it at least once!
SAM’S TIP: If you really want to get fancy with this recipe, add a splash of almond extract to the custard. It will pair beautifully with the orange zest! This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Brioche French Toast
- Dip a bread slice in your egg mixture and let soak for 4 seconds per side. This allows the custard to infuse without making the bread soggy. SAM’S TIP: I include instructions for keeping your French toast warm while you finish cooking in the recipe notes below. If your oven has a “keep warm” setting, that’s a great option too! How do you like to top your French toast? We like maple syrup and butter around here 😋 Enjoy! Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
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