Cinnamon Vanilla French Toast (Custard-Soaked Brioche)

Golden, custard-soaked brioche with a warm cinnamon and vanilla aroma — that crisp, caramelised edge giving way to a soft, creamy centre is exactly what a great French toast should be. This is a slow-weekend breakfast you can pull together in fifteen minutes flat.

It’s one of the roughly 20 recipes inside our Breakfast Cookbook, and we’re sharing this Cinnamon Vanilla French Toast in full so you can taste the standard before you buy the book. The only real trick is starting with day-old brioche.

Why this recipe works

The magic is in the soak: dipping each slice for just ten seconds per side lets the spiced custard saturate the brioche evenly without waterlogging it, so the interior turns creamy while the exterior still crisps. Slightly stale bread is what makes that possible — fresh brioche collapses.

Ingredients

French toast

• 4 thick slices day-old brioche
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup whole milk
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

Custard spice

• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• Pinch of fine sea salt

Optional garnish

• Powdered sugar, fresh berries and maple syrup

Serves 2 · Prep 5 min · Cook 10 min · 420 kcal per serving

Instructions

1. Whisk custard. Beat eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar and salt in a shallow dish until fully smooth and lightly frothy.
2. Soak bread. Dip each slice for about ten seconds per side so the custard saturates evenly without turning the bread soggy.
3. Butter the pan. Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until foaming and fragrant, swirling to coat the surface evenly.
4. Sizzle golden. Cook slices three minutes per side until caramelised, burnished brown and just set in the centre when pressed.

Chef’s tip

Use brioche left uncovered overnight. Slightly stale bread absorbs the custard deeply without collapsing, giving you a creamy interior and a crisp exterior.

Get the full Breakfast Cookbook

Loved this one? It’s a single recipe from a collection of morning favourites built the same way — clear ingredients, exact timings, no guesswork. Grab the full Breakfast Cookbook below.