Everyone needs a recipe for classic, foolproof skillet french toast, even stubborn people like me who, despite making it at least once a month and more often when there’s leftover challah, are so easily bored by and restless with simple recipes that I’ve resisted writing this up for almost 19 years. I’ve filled the french toast vacuum on the site instead with customizations: casserole-style baked french toasts with cinnamon sugar toast and, uh, bailey’s (ah, the child-free years). There’s even a fancy french toast akin to individual crème brûlées. But eventually, through a combination of friends texting on random weekend mornings [“Do you seriously not have a challah french toast recipe?!”] and the existence of a teenager, who I cannot teach to make french toast for us if I haven’t written it down, I’ve come to my senses. I mean, mostly.
This is a recipe for a very hard to mess up challah french toast with a few tricks I’ve picked up along the way, like the best way to heat a stainless steel or cast-iron pan so that nothing sticks. But why stop there? I’ve included two dreamy toppings that raise this classic into the realm of something you will otherwise pay no less than $22 for at a brunch this weekend: a gorgeous berry sauce (we will use frozen berries and nobody will be the wiser) and a whipped vanilla bean cottage cheese topping that’s fluffy and light and eliminates all cottage cheese skepticism.
Despite this, it couldn’t be simpler — no need to stale the bread or use a deep puddle of butter to make it delicious. No need to start it the night before; you can make the whole thing within an hour of rolling out of bed, the best gift ever.
Staub x Smitten Kitchen Braiser It’s been one year since I announced that I was partnering with Staub to get them to bring back one of my favorite pans, a squat 4-quart Dutch oven I first bought in 2014 and have since cooked so many things in, it barely leaves my stove. The classic black matte pan (sleek, fashionable!) is in stock, as well as — drumroll! — a limited run of a gorgeous deep blue for spring. I hope you get a chance to snag one — or nudge a friend or family member about the perfect gift for you. You can order yours here. I hope you love it as much as I love mine.
Podcast! The latest episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb is, fittingly, all about French Toast and this week we have Chris Kimball (of America’s Test Kitchen and Milk Street) on as a guest. You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts and catch up on any episodes you’ve missed right here. New episodes drop every other Monday. I hope you enjoy listening as much as we’re enjoying the conversation.
Video
Challah French Toast with Berry Sauce and Whipped Cottage Cheese
- 2 cups (10 ounces) mixed frozen berries
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons water, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups (16 ounces or 455 grams) cottage cheese, whole or low-fat
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (340 grams) milk, any kind
- 1 large (1-lb) loaf of challah bread, cut into 1 to 1.5-inch thick slices
- Butter for the pan, salted (my preference) or unsalted
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Berry sauce
Whipped cottage cheese
French toast
Make the whipped cottage cheese: In a food processor or high-speed blender, combine cottage cheese, sugar, and vanilla and blend until totally smooth and fluffy. This is a barely sweet topping; add more sugar to your taste. Spoon into a serving bowl and set aside.
Make the french toast: In a wide bowl or baking dish (for easier dipping), whisk eggs with vanilla until smooth, then pour in milk, whisking the whole time.
Place a large skillet over medium-low heat and let it warm for two minutes. A droplet of water flicked into the pan will bounce around when it’s properly heated. Add a tablespoon of butter and swirl it around. Dip first few slices of challah (as many as will fit in your skillet) in the egg-milk mixture, letting it soak for a moment, then flip it and soak it further. Add to pan and cook until browned underneath, 2 to 3 minutes. If it’s browning too slowly, increase the heat to medium. Flip each piece and cook until browned on the second side. Transfer to a serving plate and repeat with remaining slices, adding more butter to the skillet as needed.
To serve: Dust finished challah french toast with powdered sugar. Place two slices on a plate, dollop with whipped cottage cheese, and spoon over some berry sauce. Eat immediately.
Do ahead: Berry sauce is good warm or at room temperature and keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Whipped cottage cheese keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. French toast can be kept warm until needed on a baking sheet in a 200°F oven. Leftover french toast keeps for 3 days in the fridge.
Notes:
- No challah? Use brioche bread.
- I do not add sugar to the egg-milk mixture because challah is already sweet, and my kids will also be drowning it in maple syrup, but you can adjust it for more sweetness if you wish.
- No worries if your challah is larger, as homemade ones often are; you should have enough egg/milk mixture and toppings to cover it. However, if needed, whisk in another egg + 1/2 cup milk.
- Fresh challah needs only a quick dip before frying but older/firmer challah can benefit from a longer soak. For the latter, go ahead and nestle in as many slices as you can in the egg-milk mixture and flip them once while the pan heats and leave it there while the first ones cook.
Previously
6 months ago: Glazed Apple Cider Doughnut Cake
1 year ago: Black Bean and Vegetable Bake
2 years ago: Hash Brown Patties
3 years ago: Snacky Asparagus
4 years ago: Spring Asparagus Galette
5 years ago: Roast Chicken with Schmaltzy Cabbage
6 years ago: Cannellini Aglio e Olio
7 year ago: Fig Newtons and Crispy Tofu Pad Thai
8 years ago: Granola Bark
9 years ago: Caramelized Brown Sugar Oranges with Yogurt and Potato Pizza, Even Better
10 years ago: Why You Should Always Toast Your Nuts (Please!) and Obsessively Good Avocado-Cucumber Salad
11 years ago: Dark Chocolate Coconut Macaroons and Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms
12 years ago: Spinach and Smashed Egg Toast and Bee Sting Cake
13 years ago: Over-the-Top Mushroom Quiche and Banana Bread Crepe Cake with Butterscotch
14 years ago: Blackberry and Coconut Macaroon Tart
15 years ago: Baked Kale Chips and Almond Macaroon Torte with Chocolate Frosting
16 years ago: Artichoke-Olive Crostini and Chocolate Caramel Crackers
17 years ago: Spring Panzanella and Lemon Yogurt Anything Cake
18 years ago: Arborio Rice Pudding and Gnocchi with a Grater
I always run into the same problem when I make French toast: unless I dry out the bread and soak it for a long time, the egg/milk mixture never makes it into the centre, and the bread remains kind of chewy in the middle. Did you ever run into that? I’m surprised because you said that fresh challah doesn’t need more than a quick dip–is it possible that my challah is just on the chewy/eggy side?
Also, as an aside that you might find interesting, my family’s method of French toast is decidedly spare: challah dipped in eggs whisked with salt, then fried. No milk or sweetener, ever. I eventually spoke with a (non-Jewish) Russian acquaintance who said that her family made something similar. Curious about French toasts the world over…much like fried rice, I imagine there’s a lot of variation.
here in Germany we call it “arme Ritter” (poor knights), because it’s one of those use-up-your-old-bread recipes, and it usually is done with milk, eggs, a pinch of salt and stale bread. Nothing sweet in the recipe either, only in the toppings, if you like it. Our favourite at home is with cinnamon-sugar or (the very un-German and not-having-been-around-for-long) maple syrup, but also with savoury toppings. Since it’s neutral, it works both ways. So delicious in every variation I guess!
It will depend on the bread. Here I’m using storebought (gasp!) super-soft challah that absorbs easily because it’s airy. If your bread resists absorption, you can always push down on it a little in the custard, pushing the air out and encouraging it to “drink” more of the egg-milk mixture.
Thank you!
I poke a few holes in the slices with a fork while they soak to get the custard all the way through.
Ooh love the cottage cheese idea! Also, I think almond extract and a splash of orange liqueur make french toast aroma unbearably delicious!
Ooh – that would be yummy in the cottage cheese mixture!
Have you tried with more yolks than whites? Cook’s Illustrated had a recipe years ago that might be all yolks, and it’s AHmazing.
This looks divine. I always have the same question about thick custard French toast like this. How do I know that the center of the toast is cooked through just because the slices are browned on the outside? Do I need to check the center somehow so that it’s not wet with raw egg?
I like to cook it at a medium-low for longer, as suggested here, to ensure it sets before the edges are too dark.
I find that after flipping, a good gauge of doneness is when the slice puffs back up a little bit, and the surface dries out and is firm to the touch, not squishy. I never bother temping French toast, but if imagine a good target temp would be about 160 to 170, like a baked custard.
Try whole buttermilk in the custard sometime! I think that might have come to me from BA or Epicurious, and once we tried it, we never went back. Buttermilk will last in the back of the fridge for about ten forevers, and can be frozen, too, if longevity is a concern (or if you don’t use Southern levels of buttermilk like I do).
I live in a small town, rural area where challah is only something we read about. But we can get skinny baguettes, and I used to make “silver dollar French toast ” with that, and the girls loved it. Yes to berry sauce and cottage cheese! That really takes it up a notch for a weekend morning!
Try potato buns, hawaiian rolls, or brioche hamburger buns – you should be able to get any of these in most grocery stores, and they have more richness and less crust than baguettes.
Deb, I think the grams measurement for the milk is off–King Arthur says 1 cup of milk weighs 227g, so 1.5 cups should be 340g, no?
DEB THIS IS SO GOOD
I started to weight the milk and already was at 150 g at 3/4 cup
Popping in to comment on the newsletter, which is to say that I always knew Deb had good taste but learning that she has the correct favorite bagged snack (Smartfood White Cheddar popcorn) was a real treat for me.
Excited for challah French toast soon.
My people! (I hadn’t noticed the difference, btw, but I haven’t bought it as often this winter/spring.)
Here’s the newsletter, for anyone curious: https://smittenkitchen.substack.com/p/asparagus-rhubarb
Any clarification on the apparent discrepancy between volume and weight measures for milk, as several commenters noted? We’re hoping to make this for the holiday weekend.
I missed it — it’s too light. 1 cup of milk weighs about 225 grams. This should be 340 grams; now fixed.
I made this for breakfast this morning (we skipped basketball practice so we could sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast on this long weekend, felt only right). I picked up some whipped mascarpone bread from Tous Les Jours to make this. It was a perfect breakfast for my family!
This is delicious! The berries and cottage cheese cream are the perfect toppings.