Pain Perdu aka French toast
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Happy Labor Day! I recently got a new issue of Cooking Light magazine that included this recipe for Pain Perdu aka French toast. It’s the September issue and it looks beautiful. They redesigned the magazine and it show in this issue.
They asked readers for what they wanted from the magazine as part of the redesign. Readers asked for a photo with every recipe along with more quick and easy recipes. The now have it. They also asked for “real world product reviews” that’s in there too. Check out their new design, it looks great.
I also decided to try a recipe for “Pain Perdu” from this issue of Cooking Light. They have a new section called “Healthy Living Travel”. They pick a place and provide recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner from a place. This time was New Orleans so for breakfast – Pain Perdu, lunch – Muffulettas, and dinner – Shrimp Etouffee. I knew Pain Perdu was French toast but want to know why they call it pain perdu.
This is what wikipedia says about pain perdu:
“In France, Belgium, New Orleans, Acadiana, Newfoundland and the Congo a similar but distinctive food is called pain perdu, or “lost bread”, since it is a way to reclaim stale, “lost”, bread: hard bread is softened by dipping in a mixture of milk and eggs, then fried. The bread is sliced on a bias and dipped into a mixture of egg, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. The slices are pan-fried in butter and traditionally served dusted with powdered sugar and with jam on the side. Alternatively it may be served with syrup. New Orleans pain perdu is a local variation of French toast made from left over New Orleans-style French bread, which resembles a French baguette, but has a crunchier exterior and a lighter interior.”
So there you go that’s what pain perdu is! This recipe really sounded interesting to me because you top it with sliced strawberries mixed with sugar and orange rind. Plus it is 349 calories per serving. Not bad for French toast. I must say I love the strawberry/orange rind topping. It was a different and tasty combination of fresh fruit. I will definitely use that topping for other breakfast items as well. Loved it! I have to admit, I also added a light drizzle of pancake syrup on the my serving of Pain Perdu.
At myrecipes.com you can find recipes from several magazines including Cooking Light, Southern Living, Sunset, Coastal Living, All You, Real Simple and Health.
Pain Perdu (a.k.a. french toast)
Real Mom Kitchen
Ingredients
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 Tbsp sugar divided
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 8 slices day-old French bread about 1 inch thick
- 2 cups sliced strawberries
- 2 tsp grated orange peel
- 4 tsp butter divided
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together milk, 1 Tbsp sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, salt, and eggs until well blended.
- Place bread slices in a 13 x 9–inch baking dish. Pour egg mixture over bread and turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until egg is absorbed.
- in a small bowl, strawberries, remaining 1 Tbsp sugar, and orange peel. Let stand 20 minutes.
- Melt 2 tsp butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 4 bread slices to pan and cook until golden on each side. Repeat with remaining butter and bread.
- To serve, place 2 slices of bread on a plate. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered sugar; top each with 1/2 cup strawberry mixture. Serves 4.
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light
This is the original photo from this post. The above photo was updated in February 2016.
