I have long sought out to create the delicious french toast recipe from San Francisco’s Foreign Cinema and this Baguette French Toast with Mascarpone Custard Recipe is it. Thick slices of bread are soaked in a creamy mascarpone egg mixture and lightly fried until golden brown.
Top with your favorite fresh seasonal fruit compote and you’ve got the best french toast that takes us back to our brunch days at this beloved Mission District hot spot. Scroll down to see how we make this and pin or print the recipe card to have on hand for your next breakfast or brunch gathering.
What You’ll Love About This Baguette French Toast Recipe
This classic french toast recipe, also known as pain perdu, is going to become one of your favorite easy breakfast recipes. You’ll love the essence of orange zest and touch of brown sugar. It’s the perfect balance of sweetness amidst the savory custard made with whole milk and mascarpone cheese. We make good use of leftover baguettes in this easy french toast recipe. This is the perfect toasted baguette recipe for your favorite toppings that reflect the season’s best ingredients.
Ingredients for the Baguette French Toast with Mascarpone Custard
We’ll need the following list of ingredients to make this delicious baguette french toast recipe:
- 2 French baguettes. Day-old baguette is best for this recipe as we soak the bread slices in a creamy custard. The french baguette soaks up the custard infusing it with flavor and helpful creamy the beautiful golden crust for our french toast. You can also opt to use any stale bread you like from french bread to challah bread or other brioche style bread.
- Orange zest. I’ve made this with both blood orange and cara cara orange zest and it’s delightful. You could also opt for Meyer lemon zest, too. The fragrance of the citrus zest adds delicious flavor for this dish.
- Whole milk
- Mascarpone cheese
- Large brown eggs
- Brown sugar
- Kosher salt
- Vanilla bean paste. You can also use vanilla extract but to me, this is my not-so-secret ingredient that is the perfect way to add some gourmet sweetness to our french toast.
- 3 tablespoons ghee or clarified butter for frying. These are great choices for frying in lieu of unclarified butter, which may burn over higher heat temperatures.
How to Make This Baguette French Toast Recipe
Here’s how we make this dish:
- Prepare Custard: In the base of a blender pitcher, combine the milk, orange zest, mascarpone cheese, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla bean paste and salt. Blend on low until smooth. Pour custard into a shallow bowl to soak baguette slices. Alternatively: if you have an immersion blender, add ingredients to a large mixing bowl and use immersion blender to blend until smooth. Pour custard in a shallow dish to help soak the french toast slices.
- Soak Bread Slices. Slice baguette on the diagonal into one inch slices. Add 2 to 3 slices to the custard mixture in a single layer. Soak about 2-3 minutes each side.
- Fry French Toast Slices. Preheat a large 12-inch cast iron skillet or non-stick griddle on medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons of clarified butter or ghee to the skillet. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (this is to keep French toast slices warm while you cook up the rest). Fry 3 slices of baguette at a time (depending on size of skillet) for 2-3 minutes on each side in the frying pan. Fry until edges are golden brown and custard is cooked through. Place cooked baguettes on parchment lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven while frying the remaining slices.
- To serve: plate three slices of French toast and garnish. Garnish options can include: fresh berries, other seasonal fresh fruit, a bit of salted butter, dried currants, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Light dusting of powdered sugar is also good but these are yum on their own.
More Breakfast and Brunch Ideas We Love
Breakfast is truly a favorite meal in our house. Here are a few more dishes for breakfast and brunch that we absolutely love:
Baguette French Toast with Mascarpone Custard
Ingredients
- 2 French baguettes*
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1.5 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 3 tablespoons ghee or clarified butter for frying
Instructions
- Prepare Custard: combine the milk, orange zest, mascarpone cheese, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla bean paste and salt in the base of a pitcher. Blend on low until smooth. Pour custard into a shallow bowl to soak baguette slices.
- Alternatively: if you have an immersion blender you use add ingredient to a large mixing bowl and use immersion blender to blend until smooth.
- Slice baguette on the diagonal into one inch slices. Add 2 to 3 slices to the custard mixture. Soak about 3 minutes each side.
- Preheat a large 12-inch cast iron skillet or non-stick griddle on medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons of clarified butter or ghee to the skillet. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (this is to keep French toast slices warm while you cook up the rest)
- Fry 3 slices of baguette at a time (depending on size of skillet) for 2-3 minutes on each side, until edges are golden brown and custard is cooked through.
- Place cooked baguettes on parchment lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven while frying the remaining slices.
- To serve: plate three slices of French toast and garnish with options of fresh berries, a bit of salted butter, dried currants, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Light dusting of powdered sugar also good but these are yum on their own.
- **For the baguettes: get the best ones you can find (try Rustic loaf in Upland or La Brea Bakery (found at Whole Foods or Vons); aim for about 18 inches long. Day old bread is perfect. You’ll slice them into 1 inch slices. Slice on diagonal for presentation. 😉
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