This pain perdu, or French toast, with raspberries and crème fraîche is good for brunch or a lazy, indulgent Sunday morning. Enjoy a different way to have toasty brioche and fruit for breakfast.
Sometimes you want a dessert just because of the idea of it. This is one of them: golden eggy bread, tart raspberries, rich cream… Irresistible. If you can’t get your hands on brioche—the sweet French bread—any good white bread will do as long as it has a soft crust.–Diana Henry
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Pain Perdu 〜 French Toast with Raspberries FAQs
What are the best kinds of bread I can use for pain perdu?
You’re definitely going to want something that will be able to stand up to be soaked in that eggy mixture, so choose something with a tight crumb and a decent crust. Challah, sourdough, and baguette slices would all do very well in this recipe. If you’re going with regular white sandwich bread, Texas toast would be the best choice.
What can I substitute for crème fraîche?
We don’t all have a perfect little jar of crème fraîche in our fridges, right? Here are the most common substitutes—sour cream (thinned if you like), Mexican crema, or Greek yogurt. If you have the time, you can also make it yourself by combining two cups of heavy cream with two tablespoons of buttermilk. Let it sit on your counter for 24 hours (but no longer), until thickened. That’s it!
Pain Perdu 〜 French Toast with Raspberries
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 8 medium slices brioche
- 4 tablespoons (2 oz) unsalted butter
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
- 8 ounces raspberries
- Crème fraîche to serve
Directions
- Whisk the cream, eggs, and sugar together. Either leave the brioche slices whole or cut them in half (a stack of four halves can look very good). Dunk the first two slices of brioche in the egg mix and leave for 5 minutes.
- Melt a pat of the butter in a frying pan and cook the brioche slices, a couple at a time, adding more butter as you need to, until golden on each side. You need to dunk the next slices of brioche in the egg mixture as you go along. Put each slice on a paper towel as it is cooked.
- Serve two slices of brioche per person, sift confectioners' sugar over each serving, and add the raspberries and crème fraîche.
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Originally published June 8, 2009
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Kim Russell
I was enticed to make this dish because I wanted to eat an indulgent Sunday brunch dish. It was Sunday morning with the big “Eagles Playoff” game at 3 pm, which would decide if they make it to the Super Bowl. I have a friend over, and we are in the mood to eat a decadent brunch. This French Toast with raspberries seemed to fit the bill.
I had brioche sliced bread, heavy whipping cream, fresh raspberries, and powdered sugar available, and I had not made french toast in a very long time. I cooked the Pain Perdu, French Toast, for two people, and it was decadent and delicious.
Once they were all a golden brown, I put four halves on each plate, topping them with fresh raspberries, maple syrup, powdered sugar, and freshly whipped cream. It was the best french toast I had ever made. My guest and I savored each and every bite. I will definitely be making this again soon!