
This French toast has all the fall vibes, thanks to an array of seasonal toppings: crunchy pecans, apples, cinnamon, and maple syrup (mixed into silky crème fraîche). And though it’s not your average French toast, it’s still pretty simple to make. Baguette slices are dipped into an egg mixture spiked with cinnamon. The apples also get a dose of cinnamon before they're caramelized in maple syrup, brown sugar, and butter. The result? A fabulous fall French toast that's apple-solutely ready for your next brunch gathering.
4 unit
Demi-Baguette
(Contains: Soy, Wheat)
4 unit
Apple
1 unit
Lemon
4 unit
Eggs
(Contains: Eggs)
6.75 ounce
Milk
(Contains: Milk)
4 teaspoon
Cinnamon
6 tablespoon
Brown Sugar
1 ounce
Pecans
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
4 tablespoon
Maple Syrup
8 tablespoon
Crème Fraîche
(Contains: Milk)
2 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
2 tablespoon
Sugar
5 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce. Trim ½ inch on a diagonal from ends of baguettes and discard ends; evenly slice remaining bread on a diagonal into three oval-shaped pieces. Peel, halve, and core apples; dice into ½-inch pieces. Quarter lemon.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs*, milk, half the cinnamon, 2 TBSP sugar, and a pinch of salt until well combined. (It’s OK if there are a few clumps of cinnamon.) Transfer egg mixture and baguette slices to a large, zip-close bag; seal and toss to coat. Set aside, tossing occasionally, until bread is evenly soaked.
While bread soaks, melt 2 TBSP butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add apples and remaining cinnamon; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add ¾ cup water, brown sugar, juice from half the lemon, and a pinch of salt; stir to combine. Cook, covered, until apples are tender, 8-10 minutes. TIP: Watch carefully to avoid burning. Reduce heat to medium if liquid is boiling off too quickly. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are glazed and liquid is thickened and syrupy, 3-5 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in half the maple syrup (you’ll use the rest later) and 2 TBSP butter until melted. Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
While apples cook, heat a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Add pecans and toast, stirring, until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from heat; transfer pecans to a plate. Wipe out pan.
Heat a drizzle of oil and 1 TBSP butter in same pan over medium heat. Once butter begins to foam, add soaked bread to pan (let any excess egg mixture drip off first). Cook, lightly pressing down with a spatula, until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes per side. TIP: Work in batches if necessary, wiping out pan and adding more oil and butter between batches. Transfer French toast to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake on top rack until custardy, 6-8 minutes. Wash and dry pan.
While French toast bakes, in a small bowl, combine crème fraîche with remaining maple syrup until smooth.
Divide French toast between plates; spoon apples and their syrup over top. Dollop with crème fraîche and sprinkle with pecans. Serve.
Damn good! The apple topping was delicious; the demi baguettes soaked in eggs with seasoning made tender French toast. We loved it!!!!
This is a great meal! Easy to cook, love the flavors from the apples and cinnamon. Putting the bread in a zip bag to soak in egg mixture was a great idea. Only needs an extra pack of bacon for the serving size. Thanks!
Loved this so much. Great taste and texture. The maple creme fraiche was a lovely addition to the baked apples.
This French toast is delicious and has a full serving or two of fruit. It took my husband and me a full hour to prepare it so I'm glad we didn't make it for a traditional breakfast.
Love this for brunch. I have one small quibble with the instructions. I think 3/4 cup of water is too much to add to the apples. In my opinion, 1/4 cup is adequate. This is a really delicious recipe!
Wow! Delicious! Felt like we were eating brunch out at a restaurant. Fancy and the apples were so so good. Definitely took almost twice as long as the directions on the sheet. Started out more fun and then my husband said this is only fun for once ever 6 months lol
Very good, but would prefer a few changes: Would like to have more of the delicious maple creme. Also, recipe a bit too heavy with cinnamon. Came with 4 packs of cinnamon, but 3 packs would have been better.
It was a little effort chopping all the apples, but it was well worth it. The French toast was fabulous.
Changed how this is made to make it easier. If you cut the bread up into chunks and then put the egg mixture over that in a bowl and stir and let it sit while you make the apples then after the apples are done strain the apples out put that on top of the bread that you've put in a 9 x 13 pan and then bake then at the end use the syrup from the apples and the crème fraîche speeds up the cooking process.
This was WAY too labor intensive for a breakfast item. I have made French Toast for decades, but I followed your instructions. I do not see what the point to frying and then baking. The texture was soggy. The apples and toppings were the only reason it got 2 stars.