This croissant French toast is a wonderful breakfast treat. It's the perfect special occasion breakfast. While the recipe is similar to your favorite French toast, using croissants produces such an elegant, tasty, and extra crispy result.
Croissant French toast is a wonderful special occasion breakfast. You can also make it for brunch, or even breakfast for dinner (brinner!).
Fortunately, you don't have to wait for a special occasion. You can make extra slices, refrigerate them, and then reheat them in the oven or toaster oven later in the next couple of days.
I served this croissant French toast with fresh berries and maple honey syrup, a mixture of butter, honey, maple syrup, and soy sauce from a recipe for Golden Diner Pancakes in the New York Times (post coming soon). Soy sauce? You can't taste it, but it adds a little something that is hard to duplicate with just salt.
I've been keeping a jar of the syrup in the refrigerator for a few weeks and have been enjoying it on pancakes, French toast, and even Eggo waffles. The syrup makes them extra special! Plus, you don't need butter because it's already in the syrup.
A serving of the reheated syrup is in the small glass in the photo below.
Ingredients in this French Toast:
Croissants: They should be about 2 1/2 ounces each. I used grocery store croissants from the bakery section, which I bought a couple of days in advance so that they would get slightly stale. They were still quite buttery and airy, but they were sturdy enough to halve, dip in the custard mixture, and pan fry in butter without falling apart. Plus, they were only $1.50 each.
Half and Half: You could also use whole milk.
Eggs.
Brown Sugar: Just a small amount. You can use either light or dark brown sugar.
Vanilla or Vanilla Bean Paste.
Cinnamon: You could also use cardamom for a flavor surprise.
Salt.
Butter for Frying: I used salted butter.
For Topping: I added fresh berries and the maple honey syrup mentioned above. You can also dust these with a light coating of powdered sugar or top them with whipped cream, crème fraîche, or a fruit compote.
To Make This French Toast:
First, split the croissants in half, widthwise with a serrated knife and set aside while you prepare the custard.
Next, combine the half and half, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Be sure to use a flat bottomed vessel for mixing and dipping such as a deep dish pie plate or a shallow casserole dish. The eggs should be thoroughly mixed in so that you don't see any separation. The salt in the mixture helps with this.
After that, dip the the croissant halves in the custard mixture, about 20 to 30 seconds per side.
Pan fry the croissants in butter until thoroughly browned and crispy on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Finally, serve the croissants with your favorite toppings.
Tips for Success:
After dipping the croissants in the custard mixture, let them sit, cut side up on a plate to let it thoroughly soak in.
So that the tops of the croisants are crispy end-to-end after frying, very gently press down on the tops to flatten them a bit while you are frying the cut side. Do not press so hard that you compress the croissant half.
While frying the croisants, watch them very closely and vary the temperature between low and medium low and check them often. They should be brown and crispy but not burned.
For the pan, use a 12-inch nonstick skillet. If you are making a large batch, set a baking sheet in a 200 degree F oven for keeping the already fried croissants while you make the rest.
You can easily double or triple this recipe.
Storage:
Keep leftovers covered in the refrigerator. Reheat them in a 300 to 350 degree oven or toaster oven for about ten minutes. They will be almost just as good.
You can also wrap them securely and keep them in the freezer for about 30 days. Thaw and then reheat in the oven.
French Toast Recipes
The From Our Dinner Table group is sharing recipes for all kinds of French toast!
- Apple French Toast from Art of Natural Living
- Caramel Apple French Toast Bake from Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
- Croissant French Toast from Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Crunchy French Toast from That Recipe
- Easy Make Ahead French Toast Casserole from Creative Cynchronicity
- Pumpkin French Toast from Jen Around the World
- Strawberry Stuffed Keto French Toast from Palatable Pastime
We share Recipes From Our Dinner Table! Join our group and share your recipes, too! While you're at it, join our Pinterest board, too!
Croissant French Toast
This croissant French toast is a wonderful breakfast treat. It's the perfect special occasion breakfast. While the recipe is similar to your favorite French toast, using croissants produces such an elegant, tasty, and extra crispy result.
Ingredients
- 2 medium-large croissants (about 2 1/2 ounces each)
- 1/3 cup half and half
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons salted butter for frying
Instructions
- Split the croissants in half, lengthwise, with a serrated knife
- In a shallow pan, thoroughly whisk together the milk, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Everything should be fully incorporated.
- Beginning with the cut side, soak both sides of the croissant halves in the milk and egg mixture, about 20 to 30 seconds per side. Place the dipped croissant halves on a plate, cut side up.
- Place the butter in a 12 inch nonstick skillet and heat it over low to medium low heat. Tilt the pan to spread the butter over the bottom of the pan.
- Place the croissant halves in the heated pan, cut side down, and pan fry about 2 to 3 minutes until thoroughly golden brown. Turn the croissant halves over and pan fry the other side for 2 to 3 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary to achieve the right doneness.
- Place the French toast on plates or a serving platter and serve with your favorite toppings.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
489Fat (grams)
32 gSat. Fat (grams)
18 gCarbs (grams)
36 gFiber (grams)
2 gNet carbs
34 gSugar (grams)
13 gProtein (grams)
13 gCholesterol (grams)
268 mg
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Whoa! Now that's a way to make French toast fancy!
ReplyDeleteThat sure is one elegant French Toast! And I could see why you might add a bit of umami flavor from the soy sauce ...
ReplyDelete