This weekend French Toast recipe starts with a delicious homemade strawberry-apricot white chocolate Italian Easter Colomba that soaks in a silky vanilla bean custard and gets cooked in butter until golden brown. We always make enough Colomba that we have leftovers for brunch. We usually even freeze a few slices to use later on (this is perfect for an easy and tasty Mother’s Day French toast as well). This year we topped it off with a homemade strawberry- blood orange sauce, pure maple syrup, (natural) pink butter, toasted pistachios, and a chocolate pheasant egg. Whether you make your own Italian Colomba bread or buy it, you’re sure to love this special French Toast recipe.

What Makes This One of the Best Ever French Toast Recipes?

The vanilla bean custard base for this french toast is really delicious, but it’s the homemade Colomba bread that really sets this French toast apart. Add to this a quick 15-Minute homemade strawberry-blood orange sauce or strawberry jam sauce and it’s an easy breakfast or brunch with minimal cleanup. The texture of Colomba bread is somewhere between the best challah you’ve ever had, brioche, and cake. This bread takes regular french toast to a whole new level, but feel free to substitute it with your favorite egg-rich bread.

blood orange segments, strawberries, and sugar in a small pot

closeup a glass Weck tulip jar filled with strawberry blood orange sauce on a pink and gold vintage venetian wooden tray top down view

halved beautiful, bright and sunny Sicilian Tarocco half blood oranges with flesh in varying colors of orange, to red, to pink and yellow bursting with sunshine

What is Colomba Bread (“Colomba di Pasqua”, or “Colomba Pasquale)?

The bread we use as the base for this french toast is also why it’s so delicious. It starts with a sweet homemade, featherlight Colomba bread. “Colomba” means dove in Italian and the shape is meant to represent the Easter dove. It’s a favorite traditional dessert bread that’s eaten around the holiday each year. Almost everyone buys at least one Colomba (large or small) from their favorite local pastry shop (pasticceria) and eats it leading up to the holiday, on the holiday itself, and sometimes for a brief window of time just after Easter, and then it goes away for an entire year. If you want to learn more about this delicious bread, head over here. If you don’t have a Colomba lying around, substitute another egg-rich honeyed Challah, sweet brioche, or even King’s Hawaiin bread.

colomba dough rising in 4 qt plastic food container — my Colomba dough spilling out over the top after rising overnight

Colomba molds full and ready to top and bake

a fully baked beautiful Easter egg covered colorful Colomba — Chocolate Pheasant eggs decorating this year’s Easter Colomba

Best Ever French Toast Ingredients

Start with a delicious vanilla bean custard, a good Italian Colomba bread, brioche, or Challah bread and you can’t go wrong just be sure it’s good and dry first.

vanilla bean custard mixture

1/2 cup whole milk (126g)
2 large eggs (100g)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla bean powder (or a few pinches)
1/2 teaspoon blood orange sugar (or sugar + orange zest) (8g)
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon butter (for topping the French toast), plus more for cooking) (15g)
2 to 3 thick slices of dry Italian Colomba Bread, (or other egg-rich bread)

strawberry jam sauce

one recipe 15-Minute Homemade Strawberry-Blood Orange Sauce

How to Make The Best Ever French Toast

French toast is easy to make without a lot of cleanup which makes it perfect for weekend brunch, or larger family gatherings.

Prepare the custard. Add all of the custard ingredients to a bowl or shallow dish and whisk to combine. Add the sliced Colomba in a single layer and let rest for about half 10 minutes total to absorb the custard, gently turning the slices over about halfway through soaking time.
Prepare the strawberry-blood orange sauce. While the Colomba slices are soaking, add the strawberries, blood orange segments, and sugar to a small pot and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring frequently to avoid scorching, and cook for approximately 15 minutes, or until the fruit is mostly broken down and the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and put the mixture into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside while you make the pink butter.
Make the all-natural pink butter. Add the desired amount of powdered (natural) food coloring to the butter and combine the mixture using the back of a butter knife unti combined. This is totally optional. Feel free to omit this step.
Cook the french toast. Add a large pat of butter to a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or other non-stick pan and melt over medium heat. Gently add the slices of Colomba to the pan, turn the heat to low, and cook for about 5 minutes without moving the french toast. When the french toast begins to turn golden brown, gently flip them over. Continue cooking on the second side until lightly browned about 4-5 minutes more. Turn the slices back over and cook a little longer until they’re cooked all the way through and springy to the touch.
Serve the french toast. Once the french toast is cooked through, remove them from the pan to a serving platter, add a pat of pink butter, spoon the strawberry-blood orange sauce over the top, drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with pistachios and top it off with a chocolate Easter egg if desired. Enjoy!

Vanilla Bean Custard French Toast tips + tricks + FAQ’s

Why should I use a scale versus measuring cups and spoons? For best results when measuring ingredients, use a scale as opposed to measuring cups which yields more consistently delicious foods and makes them quicker to pull together.
How do I know when my French toast has soaked long enough in the custard or egg mixture? French toast has soaked long enough when it’s absorbed most of the custard or egg mixture, usually after about 15-20 minutes.
How do I know when French toast is done? French toast is done when the middle is still soft, but firm and the outside is golden brown. You should be able to press on it lightly and it should feel spongy and spring back (not cave in and stay caved in).
Can you save French toast batter/custard? Yes, you can. You can also make it up to 24 hours in advance and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. Freeze any leftover batter for up to 3 months. Simply thaw in the fridge overnight and add use it in the morning.
What temperature should my pan be when making French toast? You should always cook French toast in a medium-low pan. When you first add the French toast to the buttered skillet, it should bubble slightly and never be smoking. Low and slow is the name of the game here. You want a firm but soft and cooked-through center with a golden brown exterior. If your heat is too high, turn it down. If you feel it’s not cooking quickly enough, turn the heat up only slightly. Play with the temperature until you figure out what works for you.
What do I do if my French toast is still raw in the middle after I’ve cooked it? If your French toast is still raw in the middle but the outsides are perfectly golden brown, you can do one of two things: 1. place it in a preheated 350°F/176°C oven and cook for a few minutes until the middle is cooked through (cover with foil if need be to avoid further browning) OR you could perhaps place it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so, although I’ve never done this I’m certain it would cook the middles quickly, it may also make the French toast rubbery.
How do I make sure French toast is good? Always use dry bread, allow the bread to soak in the custard or egg mixture, always use fresh eggs, make sure it’s evenly cooked and golden brown on top, use butter to cook it in or a combination of butter + a little vegetable oil like grape seed oil, add something crunchy in texture to the top (nuts, toffee, etc.), and use 100% maple syrup if using syrup instead of a fruit or caramel sauce.

Let the Kiddos Help Make French Toast For Mother’s Day

This is a really easy French toast recipe for kiddos to help with and make it the most memorable and delicious Mother’s Day for Mom. Because let’s be honest, we know she deserves it.

Let’s get started!