Tiramisu French Toast

Brioche filled with chocolate hazelnut spread, soaked in a coffee custard, and topped with a mascarpone cream and cocoa powder, this Tiramisu french toast is rich and decadent but so delicious.

What is the trick to making the best french toast?

There’s a few keys to making great french toast including the right kind of bread, ideally a fluffy unsliced brioche. Additionally the custard egg bath needs to have enough milk so that the toast doesn’t taste like scrambled eggs. The bread should be well soaked but with fluffy bread it can’t sit forever in the custard or it will start to fall apart. I prefer french toast cooked in butter for the best crisp and flavor.

What is the best bread to use for french toast?

I love using any sort of fluffy brioche bread for french toast. Usually I recommend a challah bread but when stuffing french toast I find it’s better to use a taller sandwich loaf so there is more room for the filling. Whole Foods has a great brioche loaf in their bakery section.

What can I use instead of Nutella?

If for some crazy reason you don’t want nutella, you can just leave it out. It doesn’t make the french toast too sweet because there is almost no other sugar in the whole recipe. Bonne Maman also makes a great chocolate hazelnut spread. You can also just add thin pieces of chocolate which will melt while it’s cooking.

Tips for making Tiramisu French Toast

• While fresh bread will always be delicious, the magic of french toast is that you can use day old or even two day old bread. If you want to bake your own bread use the base dough of this babka and rather than filling it, split the proofed dough into three portions, braid them, and then bake.
• If for some crazy reason you don’t want nutella, you can just leave it out. It doesn’t make the french toast too sweet because there is almost no other sugar in the whole recipe. Bonne Maman also makes a great chocolate hazelnut spread. You can also just add thin pieces of chocolate which will melt while it’s cooking.
• Cut the slices of bread nice and thick. To fill with nutella you can either cut a slit or just spread nutella on two thinner slices of bread and sandwich them together.
• Add as much or as little filling as you want!
• Be careful not to soak the bread for too long or it will fall apart before making it into the pan.
• Keep the pan heat relatively low. Because the slices are actually sandwiches and therefore quite thick, they take a little longer to cook than normal. If the heat is too high, the bread will burn before the inside is cooked through. I like to either use a cast iron skillet or this non-stick griddle pan.
• Stuffed french toast will always taste best day of but it actually reheats well if stored in an airtight container in the fridge!
• Ideally top with a mascarpone whipped cream but if you’re making this and don’t have mascarpone you can definitely still make it and just top it with a regular whipped cream.

Additional Recipes to try!

• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pancakes
• Lemon Ricotta French Toast
• Blueberry Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake

Tiramisu French Toast Ingredients

• Brioche Loaf Bread: I love using brioche bread for french toast and recommend using a taller sandwich loaf style to get the most filling to bread ratio. You can also use the dough from this Pan Suisse Babka just without the filling to make your own brioche!
• Nutella: Any chocolate hazelnut spread will work for the filling, I also love the one from Bonne Maman. You can also just add thin pieces of chocolate which will melt while it’s cooking.
• Eggs: I use one standard large egg per two stuffed french toasts.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds flavor and enhances the whipped cream and the egg custard.
• Milk: Any milk will work to whisk with the egg but I usually use whole cows milk.
• Salt: A bit of salt helps break up the egg and season the custard and the whipped cream.
• Espresso: A double shot of espresso is added into the custard but you could also use 3 ounces of cold brew or strongly brewed coffee.
• Mascarpone: To make the mascarpone whipped cream, you’ll need standard mascarpone.
• Granulated White Sugar: Just a tablespoon of sugar is used to sweeten the whipped cream but you could also use maple syrup or honey if you want to!
• Heavy Cream: Cold heavy cream is needed to make the mascarpone whipped cream.
• Butter: I prefer salted butter for cooking the french toast but again any butter will work.
• Cocoa Powder: Any cocoa powder you have will work to dust the french toast once cooked.

How to make a Tiramisu French Toast?

Mascarpone Whipped Cream

• In a medium mixing bowl, add in the cold mascarpone, sugar, salt, and vanilla.
• Beat until smooth.
• Pour in half the cold heavy cream.
• Whip until smooth, then add in the second half of the cream and whip again until smooth. It’s not meant to be super fluffy.
• Store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Assemble

• Slice the brioche loaf into 2″-3″ thick slices.
• Use the knife to cut a slit in the bottom of each slice that creates a pocket inside of the bread. If your bread is already sliced, use two slices per french toast serving.
• Basically you want to cut the slice into two but don’t cut through the two sides and top of the slice.
•  Fill each slice with the chocolate hazelnut spread and kind of massage it into the slice so that it gets every where and doesn’t run out. If you’re using two slices, spread the filling onto one side of each slice and smush them together.

Cook

• In a baking dish, whisk together 2 eggs with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of vanilla. Then add in 2 big splashes of milk and a double shot of espresso.
• Heat a cast iron skillet or a non stick griddle pan over medium low heat with a decent amount of butter – it kind of depends on how big your pan is but basically you want a bubbling coating of butter in the pan but it doesn’t need to be even 1/8″ thick in the pan.
• While the pan heats up and the butter melts, start soaking the brioche slices. Once the first side has soaked through, carefully flip them over and soak again for a couple minutes.
• Place the soaked slices in the warm pan. They should sizzle slightly when you put them in, if they don’t increase the heat slightly, if they are wildly sizzling, turn the heat down. Let them cook until golden brown and then flip to cook the second side. 
• Cook again until golden brown. If needed, keep them warm on a baking sheet in the oven set to 200 F. Then repeat with the remaining slices. 
• To serve, top the slices with them mascarpone whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder.

This page may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click on one of the product links above and complete a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I will never place a link nor make a recommendation on a product or service that I don’t love or use personally. Read our privacy policy here. Thank you for supporting Red Currant Bakery.