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Prep time
5 minutes
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Cook time
12 minutes
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Serves
2 to 4
Author Notes
How to make the best French toast ever? Just swap out white bread and use chocolate babka instead. By way of Eastern Europe, babka is a bready cake or cakey bread—yeast-raised, sweet, and layered with lots of good stuff, like gooey chocolate or sugary cinnamon. Here, we’re using the chocolate kind. It’s an all-too-easy way to take a breakfast classic and make it weekend-decadent. A few favorite ways to top it off: confectioners’ sugar, salted butter and maple syrup, or sour cream and jam.
A note about sourcing: I usually buy chocolate babka at Jewish delis, but some supermarkets sell it as well. If you can’t find it wherever you live, feel free to substitute another sweet, swirly bread (think cinnamon-raisin). It’ll be different, but still delicious. —Emma Laperruque
Test Kitchen Notes
This is one of our Big Little Recipes. Read more here: A One-Ingredient Swap for Your New Favorite French Toast. —The Editors
Watch This Recipe
Chocolate Babka French Toast
Ingredients
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1/2 cup
whole milk
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2
large eggs
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1/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
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2 tablespoons
unsalted butter
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4
(3/4-inch) slices chocolate babka
Directions
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In a wide, shallow bowl or rimmed plate (I actually like a pie pan best), combine the milk, eggs, and salt. Whisk with a fork until smooth.
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Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the butter to melt completely.
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Dip the babka slices in the milk-egg mixture, flipping once, until totally soaked through. Add to the hot, buttered pan. Cook until deeply golden brown on both sides. (Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to fry the French toast in two batches.)
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Serve on the immediate, with whatever toppings strike your fancy. (Ideas in the headnote!)
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.
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