French toast with elderberry pears | Recipe | V-ZUG Switzerland

French toast with elderberry pears

Fotzelschnitten, "Arme Ritter", French toast, pain perdu – almost every country has its own version of this dish, originally created to give stale bread a new life. The dry bread absorbs the egg and milk mixture, becoming tender and moist on the inside and lightly crispy on the outside.

Recipe by

V-ZUG Ltd.

Preparation

15 minutes

Cooking time

20 minutes

Portions

4

Elderberry Pears

2 tbsp butter

500 g firm pears

peeled, in wedges

4 tbsp elderberry jelly

1 tbsp water

1 star anise

1 pinch of cinnamon

French toast

300 ml milk

2 eggs

2 pinches salt

400 g day-old bread

in slices

2 tbsp clarified butter

80 g sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Elderberry-Pears

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat (level 5-6). Add the pears and sauté briefly. Add the elderberry jelly, water, star anise and cinnamon, then cover and cook over low heat (level 3-4) for approximately 10 minutes. Remove the lid and reduce the liquid slightly over medium heat (level 5-6). Cover the pears and set them aside.

French toast

Whisk together the milk, eggs and salt in a shallow dish. Add the bread slices in batches and leave to soak for approximately 3 minutes, turn and soak for a further 3 minutes. Heat a little clarifying butter in a non-stick frying pan over medium to high heat (level 6-7). Pan-fry the slices on both sides in batches for approximately 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Mix the sugar and cinnamon on a flat plate, turn to coat the French toast in the cinnamon sugar while still hot, and serve with the elderberry pears.

Tips

Instead of elderberry-pear, serve seasonal fruit compote or jam.

The soaking mixture can be flavoured as preferred, for example with orange zest, cinnamon, vanilla, gingerbread spice or even a touch of pepper.

French toast can also be prepared savoury: instead of coating it in cinnamon sugar, sprinkle with finely grated cheese and serve with a salad.

Additional information

Created on

07/04/2026

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