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What Is French Toast?
French toast is a breakfast or brunch meal where thick sliced bread is dipped in a custard made of eggs, milk (or cream), and sugar, and then pan-fried. Soaking the bread in the egg and milk mixture helps to get the bread extremely fluffy and soft, and it’s an excellent base for toppings of your choice, such as maple syrup, powdered sugar, and fruit.
Apparently, however, it turns out that French toast isn’t actually French! Turns out that a type of French toast dates back to Rome, where there was a recipe that consisted of large slices of white bread with the crusts removed that are soaked into eggs and milk, fried in oil, and then smothered with honey. A variation has also been found in Germany. The French origins come from the recipe “pain perdu,” translating to “lost bread.” The French dipped any leftover bread in an egg and milk mixture and pan-fried it to refresh the bread and make a filling meal for the family. In a time where food was sparse, saving the bread from going stale in this filling meal was quite popular and made frequently. Check out more details about the original French toast and the history of it in this article.
Now going to the present day, let me tell you a story about this French toast recipe and why I decided to make this for Valentine’s Day. Many years ago, I had made a quick French toast for myself on my girlfriend’s birthday. I had it all to myself because she was on a diet prep for a bodybuilding show, but this was in her honour! Aside from that French toast, I think I’ve made it only a handful of times before, so this recipe is literally years in the making.
Naturally, she was upset and wanted me to make it again for us. Me being me, I kept cooking up other things instead of French toast, but I thought for a special Valentine’s Day surprise, it was finally time to make this!
Do you want to surprise your other half with breakfast in bed? This French Toast For Two is definitely going to allow you to put your heart on a plate, so I encourage you to try this out as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Our French Toast for Two is extra special here because we’re going to make this unique by garnishing it with our homemade Classic Cream Cheese Glaze! It’s only three ingredients and can be ready in just a couple of minutes! I love to use it in my pancake recipes, and it went so well with this French toast!
Don’t forget to watch the video at the bottom of this post for all the details on how to whip up this romantic French Toast for Two! I’d love it if you’d subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already, and please hit the bell button so you’re notified when all of my video recipes go live! I love to record the recipes to complement the written ones so you have all the tools you need to guarantee success - especially for this very special occasion! Let’s get cooking!
What Bread Should I Use for This Fluffy French Toast Recipe?
For French toast, I recommend a thick bread that will absorb the custard nicely. For our French Toast for Two recipe, I used white sourdough bread. It’s awesome because it’s fairly dense and crusty and will hold your custard well! Other excellent options include brioche bread, challah bread, or even Texas toast. You can’t go wrong with white sandwich bread if that’s all you’ve got on hand - just make sure it’s not too thin!
Why Add Milk To Eggs For French Toast?▼
The key characteristic of a French toast is its creamy, rich custard-like centre which comes from the milk and egg mixture. Milk is needed to create the custard mixture, which acts as a batter to coat and soak into the bread. Additionally, since the French toast is prepared on a pan and it is toasted with butter - or in some recipes even baked! (comment below if you want a baked French toast recipe!) - the milk helps provide the necessary moisture to ensure the bread does not dry out.
Is It Better to Use Butter Or Oil For French Toast?▼
While both butter and oil can result in a tasty final product, the flavour and texture would most likely be different. If you prefer a creamy, buttery flavour in your French toast that complements the creamy custard centre of the dish. then butter is certainly the option you want to pick. Furthermore, the butter helps give the toast a rich golden brown crispy crust, which is packed with flavour.
Oils such as olive oil or avocado oil are excellent for you in case you are looking for an alternative to butter that is dairy-free and packed with mono-unsaturated fats, whereas butter contains saturated fats. In most cases, the oil will not impart a creamy flavour to your French toast, while it actually will help give a crispier texture to the toast than butter.
It really comes down to your preference. If you want to make this French Toast for Two recipe exactly how I did, then butter is the way to go!
What Is the Trick to Making Good French Toast?
I would honestly have to go with the bread that you choose to use for the French toast. Get the best sourdough, or challah or brioche bread that are cut in thick slices to really get the experience that is French toast. You really can’t go wrong with these answers.
What Is the Most Common Mistake in Making French Toast?
A mistake that I’ve been guilty of is thinking that the longer I soak the bread, the tastier the French toast will be. It actually does not help if the bread is too soft to even cook with. The best French toast is made with perfect bread that absorbs all the good flavors from the custard mixture, while still retaining its own body and taste.
How Do I Get My French Toast To Not Be Soggy?▼
Soak a slice of bread that’s thin for too long, and this will result in a soggy mess. Make sure to keep a close eye and soak your bread for just long enough based on the thickness of the bread you’re working with. You know it’s soaked for long enough by checking that the slice holds its shape after soaking it on each side.
Can I Make The French Toast Dairy-Free?▼
Technically you can use any milk substitute, such as almond milk (or you could make your own!) soy milk, or even oat milk. However, I’m using whole dairy milk here, which really helps to make the toast fluffy and adds some richness to the custard.
Furthermore, to swap out the butter, you simply can use a dairy-free butter or cook the French toast with olive oil.
Tools Needed for French Toast for Two
- Non-stick pan
- Microplane (if grating whole nutmeg)
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cup
- Whisk
- Mixing bowl
- Casserole
- Fish spatula
Ingredients for Fluffy French Toast for Two
Head to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD or press the “Jump to Recipe” button to see all ingredient quantities and to save the recipe for later. You can also adjust the recipe based on how many portions you want to make with all individual measurements being automatically adjusted for you - no need to calculate ratios!
For the Custard
- Eggs: They’re quite essential to making a good custard. This helps bind and thicken all of our ingredients together, and assists in making the bread fluffy when we cook it.
- Milk: I’m using whole dairy milk here. You could even use half and half or heavy cream for a very decadent French toast!
- Spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg are added here, in addition to some vanilla extract to enhance the flavor.
- Powdered sugar: I recommend powdered sugar instead of granulated because granulated sugar will cause your custard to get grainy, and it won’t be smooth.
- salt: To bring out the sweetness and the spices in our custard.
For the Cream Cheese Glaze
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Cream cheese
For the French Toast
- Bread: I’m using white sourdough here. You can technically use any kind of bread you want, but white bread will probably give you the best results.
- Butter: To cook the bread with the custard and to add some extra flavor.
- Toppings: Classic Cream Cheese Glaze, strawberries, blueberries and powdered sugar. See below in this post for more topping ideas!
How to Make French Toast for Two
Set the bread slices out on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour to allow it to dry out.
In the meanwhile, prepare the egg mixture by whisking together eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and salt.
Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat and in the meanwhile transfer the egg mixture to a square casserole dish.
Dip the bread for 20-40 seconds on each side. The bread should still be able to hold its shape and not be completely soggy.
Melt a teaspoon or two of butter in the pan and add the slice of bread on the pan. Cook on the first side until it is a light golden brown and then flip, lower the heat cook the other side until light golden brown. Repeat the same for the remaining slices.
Slice the french toasts diagonally in halves and serve topped with fresh berries, cream cheese glaze or you favourite type of honey or maple syrup.
Additional Tips to Make Amazing French Toast for Two
- The soak time really depends on the thickness of your bread, and how long you let it dry out. Soak for too long, and you will get a soggy mess, so keep a close eye and soak just enough so that when you lift the slice, it doesn’t fold easily.
- You can get a dose of extra protein if you like by adding some protein powder and whisking it well with the egg mixture. Adjust for consistency using more milk if using 1 full scoop of protein powder.
- I quite enjoy the warm, toasted outside, with a softer, almost custard like inside of a French toast. However, if you like it more well done, once the French toast is coloured on each side on the pan, transfer to an oven at 350 F for 7-10 minutes or until the middle is completely set.
- Salt, may seem out of place in this recipe, but it actually enhances the flavours to make ingredients like cinnamon, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla and anything else you add to this recipe.
- Get a dose of morning buzz with a teaspoon or two of instant coffee to this recipe, the salt here would make the coffee taste even better and more wholesome.
Serving Suggestions for French Toast
This French Toast for Two on its own will be fantastic for your Valentine’s Brunch (or brinner - breakfast for dinner anyone? That’s how I enjoyed these!). However, if you want to make a complete meal and give you a true cafe experience, then pair your French toast with a hot or cold beverage and even throw in something savoury to balance out the sweet! Here are just a couple of components that you can mix and match to create a memorable Valentine’s Day!
Beverages
- Best S’mores Hot Chocolate
- Starbucks White Hot Chocolate
- Cafe Mocha
- Tim Horton’s French Vanilla
- Chocolate Cream Cold Brew
Savoury Options
- Bacon slices
- Anadi’s Classic Omelette
- Creamy Scrambled Eggs
- Air Fryer Waffle Fries
- Bacon, Egg & Guacamole Bagel
- Pepperoni Pizza Bagels
Variations for French Toast
- Fruit: I used blueberries and strawberries here. Feel free to use any berries of your choice or even try some sliced bananas or Caramelized Bananas. As I mention in my Make Cooking Fun! free motivational guide with my top tips to explore your potential in the kitchen, I always encourage you to use what you have! If you’ve got fresh fruit that are going to go bad, then by all means use them up here before going out to buy more! I literally had just bought frozen strawberries and blueberries and didn’t want to go out, but they turned out really great here!
- Custard: If you want to make this French toast themed based on the time of year, you could swap out the simple cinnamon and nutmeg in the custard for Pumpkin Pie Spice or Apple Pie Spice!
- Whipped cream: Whipped cream is a perfect topping here! I added some after taking the photo just because I didn’t want the toast to disappear under all the toppings! You can either use it from a can or make it yourself!
- Sauce & Syrup: Replace the Cream Cheese Glaze or also add some fun sauces and syrups, such as good old maple syrup, warm honey, Cafe Mocha Sauce, Caramel Sauce, Whiskey Caramel Sauce, or even Pumpkin Spice Sauce!
- Chocolate: You could also throw in some dark, milk, or white chocolate chips on top, or even shave a dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate bar on top!
- Nuts: If you want a crunch to your French toast, try topping with pecans or walnuts.
- Jam: If you want even more fruitiness or don’t have whole fruits on hand, jam will add that nice sweetness and pop of colour! You can go for strawberry jam, blueberry jam, or raspberry jam.
Can I Make French Toast For Two Ahead Of Time?▼
While other recipes say you can, I think French Toast is best served fresh. However, if you plan on making our French Toast recipe for breakfast in bed on Valentine’s Day (or any occasion!) and don’t want to wake up too early to prepare the French toast, what you can do is make the custard the night before and store it in an airtight container. You can keep the custard for at most 2 to 3 days because of the milk and eggs. Furthermore, since stale bread will help to absorb the custard better, you can also cut your slices in advance and let them dry up.
When you’re ready to prepare the French toast, simply heat up the pan and get dipping and cooking! This process will be super quick with you prep done the night before, and you won’t be too noisy if you’re cooking before your loved one wakes up!
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