Ingredients
- ½ cup / 115ml cream, preferably grass fed
- ½ cup / 115ml whole milk, preferably grass fed
- 3 eggs, preferably pasture raised, lightly beaten
- 1 generous cup / 125g gruyere cheese, shredded
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 loaf brioche or challah bread, sliced into 1 inch / 2.5cm slices (day-old bread works best)
- salted butter for cooking and to serve
- Bonne Maman Raspberry Preserves to serve
Directions
Preheat your oven to 250°F / 120°C and put a wire cooling rack inside a sheet pan and place in the oven to get warm. This is the method I use to keep the french toast warm after it’s been made. The wire wrack insures that the toast will stay slightly crisp on the outside and not get soggy.
In a medium sized, bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream and salt and pepper and set aside. You may want to transfer the mixture to a shallow bowl/container for easier, even dipping.
Use a serrated knife to slice your bread into 1 inch slices. Now go back and cut your bread slices in half – starting from the bottom of the bread and working your way up to the top but don’t cut all the way through the top of the bread – leave the tops of your slices intact. Put a generous amount of shredded gruyere cheese in between the bread but avoiding the edges, like you’re making a cheese sandwich. *See the picture of me lifting the bread revealing the cheese underneath as a reference.
Lay out all of your dry, cheese-filled slices on a sheet pan.
Quickly dip each slice into your cream + egg + milk mixture, flipping the bread carefully so each side soaks up some of the mixture, and the cheese still stays in the middle. Don’t let your bread linger too long or it will get soggy.
On a low heat, warm your skillet until butter starts to bubble but not brown. Cook each wet bread slice until golden brown, making sure that you re-butter” the pan after each slice. I find that low heat works best for this because it allows the cheese to melt without overcooking the outside of the bread.
Serve french toast warm with more salted butter and warmed raspberry preserves. Bonne Maman preserves is my jam, so I encourage you to get a jar to go with this recipe just because the tangy sweetness of the raspberry goes so stinking perfectly with the buttery brioche and the savory cheese. I’m still drooling about this breakfast. John, make this again for me will you?”
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