Baked Brioche French Toast with Fresh Berries
When fresh berries arrive at your farmers’ market, whip up a batch of this French toast for brunch. The recipe comes to us from Gaby Dalkin, cookbook author and founder of the site What’s Gaby Cooking. She gives thick slices of brioche a quick soak in a sweet egg custard that’s infused with brown sugar, vanilla bean paste and cinnamon, then bakes the bread until it’s tender in the center and lightly crisp on the edges. A classic yeast bread that’s rich with eggs and butter, brioche is a great choice for French toast because it’s soft (but not too soft) and soaks in just the right amount of the beaten egg mixture.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter for greasing
- 6 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 cups (16 fl. oz./500 ml) milk
- 2 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 Tbs. vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 loaf brioche, about 6 oz. (180 g), cut into slices 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick
- Assorted fresh berries, such as strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, for serving
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
- Maple syrup for serving (optional)
- Whipped cream for serving (optional)
Directions
Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C). Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until blended. Working with 1 slice of bread at a time, dip the bread slices into the egg mixture, turning to coat them evenly and letting the bread absorb some of the liquid, about 10 seconds each.
Arrange the bread slices in the prepared baking dish, overlapping them slightly. Pour any remaining egg mixture evenly over the bread. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Bake until golden brown and lightly crisp at the edges, about 35 minutes.
Arrange the berries on top of the French toast and dust lightly with confectioners’ sugar. Serve hot, passing maple syrup or whipped cream at the table, if desired. Serves 6.
Recipe courtesy of Gaby Dalkin, cookbook author and founder of What’s Gaby Cooking