Brown Butter & Orange Brioche French Toast

⏱ 25 min · Serves 4

Thick slices of brioche soaked in a vanilla-orange custard, then fried in nutty brown butter until the edges caramelise. Crisp outside, almost custardy inside — the French toast worth getting out of bed for.

Per serving: 650 kcal · 17.0g protein · 62.0g carbs · 37.0g fat

Ingredients

• 8 thick slices brioche (about 2.5cm each), preferably a day old
• 4 large eggs
• 250ml whole milk
• 60ml double cream
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of fine salt
• 50g unsalted butter, plus extra if needed
• Maple syrup, to serve
• Icing sugar and fresh berries, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, orange zest, cinnamon and salt in a wide shallow dish until completely smooth with no streaks of egg white.
2. Lay 2-3 slices of brioche in the custard and soak for 30 seconds per side — long enough to be saturated but not falling apart. Lift out and let excess drip off.
3. Melt half the butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Let it foam and cook until it smells nutty and turns golden brown, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the soaked slices and fry for 2-3 minutes until deep golden, then flip and cook another 2 minutes. Keep the heat at medium so the custard sets before the outside burns.
5. Transfer to a warm plate (or a low oven at 120C to hold). Wipe the pan if the butter has darkened too much, add the remaining butter, brown it again and cook the next batch, soaking as you go.
6. Serve stacked, dusted with icing sugar, showered with berries and drenched in warm maple syrup.