Chocolate Stuffed French Toast with Cherry Compote
This chocolate stuffed French toast with cherry compote is life-changingly good. Thick slices of challah bread are filled with chocolate, briefly soaked in custard and cooked until golden, then topped with a sweet cherry compote. It's a super luxurious but completely beginner friendly brunch option.
Equipment
- 12 inch non-stick frying pan or can use stainless steel, but you may need more butter/oil
Ingredients
Cherry Compote
- 1 lb frozen pitted dark sweet cherries
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp almond extract (optional)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Chocolate French Toast
- 8 slices challah bread, sliced 1 ¼ inch thick (about 1 standard loaf)
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 tbsp granulated sugar
- Few dashes freshly grated nutmeg can use ground nutmeg instead
- 4 oz semi sweet chocolate, broken into 8 squares (each 1/2 oz)
- 4 tbsp butter plus more if needed
- Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Add all compote ingredients except cornstarch to a pot and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.1 lb frozen pitted dark sweet cherries, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup water, Zest of 1 lemon, 1 tbsp lemon juice, ½ tsp almond extract (optional), Pinch of salt
- Note: While the compote cooks, you can start the French toast (optional).
- Spoon about 2 tbsp of the warm cherry juice into a cup and whisk with cornstarch to make a slurry.1 tbsp cornstarch
- Slowly whisk the cornstarch slurry into the cherries and cook for a minute or 2 to thicken, then remove the compote from heat.
- In a wide dish that's a couple inches deep, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, and nutmeg.4 eggs, 1 cup whole milk, 4 tbsp granulated sugar, Few dashes freshly grated nutmeg
- Cut into the top of each bread slice to create a deep pocket without going through to the other side. Leave a ¼ to ½ inch border around the sides. Place 1 chocolate square into each pocket.8 slices challah bread, sliced 1 ¼ inch thick (about 1 standard loaf), 4 oz semi sweet chocolate, broken into 8 squares (each 1/2 oz)
- Dip each bread slice into the egg mixture and let sit for 1-2 minutes, then flip each bread and soak another 1-2 minutes on the other side. Be careful not to soak much longer or the bread will be too soggy to work with. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your dish.
- Add 2 tbsp butter to a pan set over medium heat. Add 4 slices of soaked bread and cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side, then flip each bread over and cook another 2-3 minutes on the second side or until golden brown. Remove from pan, then add the rest of the butter and cook the 2nd batch of French toast the same way.4 tbsp butter
- Top the chocolate stuffed French toast with cherry compote and dust with powdered sugar (optional).Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Notes
1 serving = 2 pieces of stuffed French toast with compote.
Tips:
- Slice the bread yourself instead of using pre-sliced. This allows you to cut the pieces thick enough to stuff the chocolate.
- Don’t overfill with chocolate or it may spill out and burn while cooking.
- Don’t oversoak or let the bread sit in the custard too long or it'll get too soggy and harder to work with.
- Keep the heat at medium so the inside warms through before the outside browns too much.
- Let it sit for a minute before serving so the chocolate settles a bit and doesn’t burn your mouth.