Pain Perdu ( Chocolate French Toast)

The earliest known reference to French toast is in the Apicius, a collection of Latin recipes dating to the 4th or 5th century; the recipe mentions soaking in milk but not eggs (though the editor adds eggs) and gives it no special name, just Aliter Dulcia 'another sweet dish'. There is a 14th-century German recipe under the name "Armeritter". There are 15th-century English recipes for "pain perdu" (French for "lost [or wasted] bread", suggesting that the dish is a use for bread which has gone stale).

A 1660 recipe for "French Toasts" is different: toasted bread is soaked in wine, sugar, and orange juice.
A similar dish, suppe dorate, was popular in England during the Middle Ages, although the English might have learned it from the Normans, who had a dish called tostees dorees.

 

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 6 slices white bread, crusts removed and cut into triangles
• Special equipment: 9 by 5-inch baking dish

Directions

In a small pot over low heat, add 1/4 cup cream, milk, sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, vanilla, and salt and bring to a simmer. Put the chocolate into a medium bowl and pour in the cream mixture. Let sit until the chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and mix until well combined. Grease the baking dish with the remaining tablespoon of butter, and it line with the bread slices, overlapping slightly. Pour the chocolate mixture over the bread, making sure to cover the tips. Push the bread down with your fingers to coat the bread completely. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake until the custard sets and the bread turns golden at the edges, about 30 minutes.
Add the remaining cream to a chilled bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Serve the French toast on individual plates with a dollop of cream.