Brioche French Toast with Pie Filling Topping
It’s Saturday morning, and I’m making breakfast for the Payaso for a change. We had some leftover canned pie filling from Pi Day, so what better way to use up the remnants than to make some french toast? I guess I could have channeled my inner fat kid, grabbed a spoon and ate directly from the can for a late night snack, but then we wouldn’t have toppings for our french toast. And why settle for ordinary french toast when there’s brioche? Brioche is a superstar bread because it’s eggy, buttery, and super soft; the perfect player when it comes to french toast. This morning I’m using a brioche with vanilla cream I found when I was shopping yesterday. The Payaso and I had a small slice last night after dinner, and it was all we could do from not eating the whole loaf. Soft, spongy and sweet. Yum!
Brioche French Toast
Ingredients
- Brioche bread (cut into 1 – 1.5″ slices)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground clovers
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- pinch of salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Combine eggs, cream and spices into a 9 x 13″ casserole pan; mix until well combined.
- Place sliced brioche bread into egg and cream mixture, let soak about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Melt butter on a griddle or in large saute pan.
- Over medium heat, add egg soaked brioche bread to heated pan. Let cook approximately 4-5 minutes per side.
- After cooking brioche on both sides, add to a rimmed sheet pan and place in preheated oven for approximately 5-7 minutes.
- Serve with favorite toppings.
After cooking the french toast on the griddle, I decided to put the beautiful pieces of brioche into a preheated oven so the custard in the middle of the bread could cook a little longer and not be soggy. I think the trick to a good french toast is to cook it on the griddle low and slow. You want the egg to cook, and the butter to caramelize the bread, but you don’t want rush that process because then you’ll end up with soggy french toast. Think grilled cheese here. Have you ever made a grilled cheese and tried to rush the process? No? Well, I have more times than I should admit because I can’t exercise enough patience to wait long enough for the cheese to melt. The same concept for french toast applies here. Be. Patient. You can do it, trust me. I won’t let you down. I added some powdered sugar to the french toast after I topped it with the leftover pie fillings. Served with some crispy bacon, and breakfast was ready.
The perfect start to our weekend. I’m hoping to convince the Payaso that because it’s going to be in the upper 40’s here in Minnesota, we’ll be able to finally take down the Christmas lights from the house. Plus, it’s St. Patrick’s Day, and that means the corned beef is in the slow cooker working it’s magic. I have hopes that the magic will include a pot of gold and early retirement is in our future. Wishful thinking?