Sweetened Condensed Milk Croissant French Toast

These quick croissant French toast made with sweetened condensed milk are super silky and extremely soft! It’s incredible how something so simple, easy and quick turned into a delicious warm breakfast. Besides using condensed milk, I toasted the croissants before soaking them in the egg mixture, that way the croissants ended up being crispy and dry on the surface but still super soft on the inside. Never soggy and with the perfect crisp texture.

Croissant French toast are nothing new under the sun, but frankly I have never been a fan of French toast, so for me making these with croissant bread and sweetened condensed milk was a game changer. I literally woke up one morning and had some croissants that we had ordered up from a local bistro that makes some delicious pastries. For some reason I thought about French toast. And you know I’m always looking to twist things up in the kitchen, so I decided to use condensed milk instead of the cream. And the rest was brunch history!! Now I just love these so much! I have made them quite a few mornings and decided it was time to share them with everyone. You deserve to know this recipe!!

I think the key here is to press and toast the croissants first in a griddle. I think this can be a wonderful technique if you’re using a thick brioche as well. It will keep things firm and crisp on the outside, helping bread retain its shape. But the inside will be so silky and soft! You may toast the halved croissants in the toaster but I like to press them and make them flatter.

You will only need 4 ingredients for these croissant French toast! Eggs of course, milk, sweetened condensed milk, nutmeg and salt. I didn’t use vanilla because I wanted the notes of the condensed milk to shine. And since they are already so thick and croissants are already so full of buttery fat, I decided to use regular milk instead of heavy cream. I have made these with coconut milk as well and it’s a fantastic substitution.

How to make Croissant French Toast

1. I started by slitting my croissants in halves, spreading just a very thin layer of butter to prevent them from burning and pressed them in the griddle until slightly toasted, crispy but not flaky. I then let them cool down.

2. In the meantime, I beat eggs vigorously to have a smooth base. I like to use a fork and beat the eggs rapidly and scratch them towards the walls of the bowl to break any lumps. I transfered the eggs to a large rectangular pan and mixed in the sweetened condensed milk, milk, nutmeg and salt.

3. I soaked the croissant halves for about 2 minutes per side, starting inside side down, so the last 2 minutes the insides get exposed to air and dry a bit.

4. I use only butter to make French toast but you can use butter plus a bit of vegetable or canola oil as well if you prefer or if you have experienced bad episodes of burnt butter. The important thing is to work slightly over medium heat and lower the temperature if the toast are burning too fast.

5. Remove from pan and place in a warm oven to keep them warm while you finish the rest of your batch (very smart move especially if you can work small batches of bread at a time).

6. Serve immediately!!!

You can make these croissant French toast as simple or as decadent as you want, just by playing around with your fixings. I went for Nutella and blueberries but you can serve them simply with pure maple syrup or go crazy with chopped nuts, sweetened cream cheese, whipped cream, homemade lemon curd, homemade raspberry jam, dulce de leche (which will only be more sweetened condensed milk!)… whatever your belly is craving that morning!

Now tell me, how are you planning on eating these?! Don’t forget to share with me your thoughts or if you have the chance to take a pic share it with me at Instagram so I can share it with the world. It’ll really mean a lot!!

Sweetened Condensed Milk Croissant French Toast

Ingredients

◯ Croissants - 3 to 4, halved and with a very slight spread of butter
◯ Eggs - 2 to 3 (2 for a lighter texture, 3 for an eggier texture)
◯ Sweetened condensed milk - ¼ cup
◯ Regular or pure coconut milk - ½ cup
◯ Fine sea salt - ¼ Tsp
◯ Freshly grated nutmeg - a good pinch
◯ About 5 tablespoons of butter for frying and a bit of vegetable/canola oil if using for frying as well.
◯ Maple syrup, Nutella and fresh fruits for serving (see above for more fixings ideas).

Details

Yield:
6 to 8 croissant halves (4 whole croissants)

Total time:
20 minutes

Active time:
20 minutes

Equipment:
large griddle or non-stick skillet, large baking dish to soak the bread, spatula, baking sheet and rack (optional)

Steps

Preheat oven to 190°.

In a large griddle or non-stick skillet toast and press down the croissant halves (you can use a large spatula or small cutting board to do this). Set aside to let them cool down. If using the same pan, remove from heat and wipe it up.

In a small bowl beat the eggs until very smooth. Transfer to your soaking dish and using a hand whisk mix in the ¼ cup of sweetened condensed milk. Add ½ cup of milk, the ¼ teaspoon of salt and a pinch of nutmeg and mix until smooth and well combined.

Soak each slice of croissant inside down first for about two minutes, pressing it down just a little bit when you place it. Turn them and soak for another 2 to 3 minutes, making sure all the bottom and sides are soaked or at least coated with the custard.

When the time is almost up, heat about 2 ½ tablespoon of butter. When foam starts to form, tilt your pan to coat all the of bottom or distribute the butter with a spatula. When sizzling, transfer three to four slices of croissants, inside side down first, arranging them in one layer (if using a griddle you will be able to put more slices of croissants at once). Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, checking them during the last minute to make sure they’re not burning. If the toast are burning too fast, lower your heat or remove your pan from the burner for 20 seconds.

If keeping warm in the oven, place cooked toast on a baking cooling rack and put them in the oven. Finish cooking the rest of your bread. You may place the lasts slices of bread on the oven to keep them toasty while you finish up putting your breakfast together.

Serve with any toppings you prefer!