Indulgent French-Stuffed French Toast

Ever since I introduced mon petit chou to Brie, we’ve been obsessed. If it’s available at a restaurant we’re at, it’s a must order if we haven’t tried theirs yet. It’s something we are really looking forward to for our upcoming vacation to France. That and wine.. pastries.. desserts.. bread.. OK!  We are looking forward to stuffing our faces while in France with reckless abandon. We’ll be doing a lot of walking, it’ll be fine. Calories don’t count while on vacation anyways. Just like this recipe!

Brie goes amazingly well with fruit, honey, syrup.. anything sweet really. I’ve never tried it savory, but sweet compliments is so well that I don’t really want to. Bienvenue to the amazingness of my “French-stuffed” French toast! A crème brûlé type toast stuffed with Brie and compote. You’ll really want a non-stick pan (or well-seasoned cast iron skillet) because the sugar can get stuck on the pan otherwise. You also want to use really thick bread. My suggestion would be to get a loaf from the local bakery and cut it yourself. I’ve used sourdough and even a French baguette (sliced lengthwise in half, and a sliver of the crust cut off so it can sit flat and soak up the egg mixture), but any type of bakery bread loaf would work fine.

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What you will need...

For the compote

• 2 large peaches, ½ inch diced
• 2 pounds of blueberries
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 4 tablespoons water

1. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat, combine the peaches, blueberries, sugar and 2 tablespoons of water.
2. Stirring frequently, watch for blueberries and peaches to start breaking down and the mix to become more liquidy. You can mash the mixture up a bit with a potato masher, but don’t go too crazy, you still want some whole berries.
3. Once the mixture begins to bubble, combine the cornstarch and remaining water in a cup and slowly pour into the sauce pan, stirring quickly. Let bubble for a few seconds and turn the heat down to low.
4. Simmer the compote until it thickens. Turn off heat and let sit while you prepare the French toast. *You can do this without the cornstarch, but it takes much longer as you would need to let it simmer for a very long time to reduce the amount of water.

For the French toast

• 4 large pieces of thick cut, hearty bread, about 1 inch thick
• 1 container of traditional yogurt (I prefer using vanilla flavor)
• 3 eggs
• A splash of milk (probably about 2 tablespoons)
• Cinnamon, to taste
• 1 tablespoon of sugar (any kind will do!)
• Butter for the pan
• 1 wedge of Brie (about 2 inches wide at the widest edge)

1. In a shallow dish, a pie pan works great, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, milk and cinnamon until combined.
2. Place the bread in the egg mixture and let it soak until fully saturated on both sides.
3. Heat a griddle on medium high heat, coating with butter.
4. Once the butter is nice and bubbly, place the soaked bread in. You should hear a sizzle.
5. Cook the bread on each side for about 2-3 minutes, until nice and brown. You want to heat it all the way through to solidify and cook the egg that has soaked into the bread.
6. Sprinkle one side with sugar and flip back onto the pan, but only for 30 seconds or less. You want the sugar to caramelize, but not blacken and fully burn.
7. Turn the oven on low broil.
8. On a baking sheet, lay the bread out and top with slices of Brie. Use as much or as little as you prefer. Top with your desired about of compote and place under the broiler until the Brie is super melty.
9. Pop onto plates and stuff your face! You can put two slices together to make a stuffed French toast sandwich, or leave them open face. You will also want a nice steak knife to cut through the crust of these since it’s so thick.

This recipe is way too variable to compile any sort of macros for it. We make this every couple of months since it’s definitely a treat. It’s great to make for special occasions, like Christmas morning, or the first big breakfast cooked in a new house! Don’t fret about calories too much. Everyone needs a treat once in a while, and a tasty one at that. You won’t regret making and slamming this breakfast favorite of ours!

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