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Best French Toast Recipe (Pain Perdu)
5 from 32 votes

Best French Toast Recipe (Pain Perdu)

This Best French Toast Recipe (Pain Perdu) uses unsliced or brioche white bread soaked in a rich mixture of eggs, milk, cream, and two types of sugar before being pan-fried in butter to a golden finish. The result is a tender interior with a lightly caramelized, slightly crisp exterior, suitable for breakfast or dessert when topped with powdered sugar, fresh fruit, or salted caramel sauce.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
20 mins
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 260 kcal
Course: Dessert, Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: French

Ingredients

  • white bread unsliced, or brioche, day-old, loaf
  • 3 (150g) egg organic
  • 200 ml (¾ cup) milk or semi-skimmed, whole
  • 50 ml (bit less than ¼ cup) heavy cream (crème liquide)
  • 50 g (¼ cup) sugar
  • 25 g (2 tbsp) brown cane sugar (unrefined, granulated, crystallised sugar) See NOTES
  • pinch salt fleur de sel, Maldon or Celtic, sea salt
  • 25 g (2 tbsp) butter unsalted

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and cane sugar. Pour in the milk and cream.
  2. Cut the bread or brioche into about 6 thick slices of about 2-3cm (an inch) per slice.
  3. Soak each slice in the liquid for a few seconds (or more if the bread is quite dry) until completely soaked through the bread. Transfer each slice to a tray.
  4. In a medium-hot non-stick frying pan, melt the butter until it starts to mousse a little.
  5. Fry the slices in the butter until well toasted on each side. As the slices cook, the butter will also become toasted. Repeat until all the slices are used.

Notes

  • Serve the French toast warm immediately or keep it warm in a low oven at about 120°C (100°C fan) before serving.
  • Top with powdered sugar and fresh berries or fried apples with salted caramel sauce for added flavor variations.
  • Leftover slices can be cooled, stacked with a plate cover, and stored, or frozen in sealed bags for future use.
  • Brown cane sugar used here is unrefined and adds a distinctive vanilla/caramel note, distinct from soft brown sugar.
  • Measuring ingredients by weight in metric grams yields best results.