challah french toast – smitten kitchen

Make the berry sauce: Place berries, sugar, salt, and 3 tablespoons of the water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until berries defrost and become saucy, about 8 to 10 minutes. In a small dish, combine cornstarch and remaining 2 teaspoons of water then add to berry sauce, simmering another minute until slightly thickened. Off heat, squeeze in lemon juice to taste. Pour into a bowl for serving and set aside.

Make the whipped cottage cheese: In a food processor or high-speed blender, combine cottage cheese, sugar, and vanilla and blend until totally smooth and fluffy. This is a barely sweet topping; add more sugar to your taste. Spoon into a serving bowl and set aside.

Make the french toast: In a wide bowl or baking dish (for easier dipping), whisk eggs with vanilla until smooth, then pour in milk, whisking the whole time.

Place a large skillet over medium-low heat and let it warm for two minutes. A droplet of water flicked into the pan will bounce around when it’s properly heated. Add a tablespoon of butter and swirl it around. Dip first few slices of challah (as many as will fit in your skillet) in the egg-milk mixture, letting it soak for a moment, then flip it and soak it further. Add to pan and cook until browned underneath, 2 to 3 minutes. If it’s browning too slowly, increase the heat to medium. Flip each piece and cook until browned on the second side. Transfer to a serving plate and repeat with remaining slices, adding more butter to the skillet as needed.

To serve: Dust finished challah french toast with powdered sugar. Place two slices on a plate, dollop with whipped cottage cheese, and spoon over some berry sauce. Eat immediately.

Do ahead: Berry sauce is good warm or at room temperature and keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Whipped cottage cheese keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. French toast can be kept warm until needed on a baking sheet in a 200°F oven. Leftover french toast keeps for 3 days in the fridge.

Notes:

No challah? Use brioche bread.

I do not add sugar to the egg-milk mixture because challah is already sweet, and my kids will also be drowning it in maple syrup, but you can adjust it for more sweetness if you wish.

No worries if your challah is larger, as homemade ones often are; you should have enough egg/milk mixture and toppings to cover it. However, if needed, whisk in another egg + 1/2 cup milk.

Fresh challah needs only a quick dip before frying but older/firmer challah can benefit from a longer soak. For the latter, go ahead and nestle in as many slices as you can in the egg-milk mixture and flip them once while the pan heats and leave it there while the first ones cook.