Apricot-Almond Stuffed French Toast

Stuffed French toast is a popular brunch dish in which a sweet, dairy-based filling is encased in custardy, batter-coated French toast. We wanted a recipe in which the exterior was as crisp as could be to accent the rich, creamy filling. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Instead of “stuffing” the bread (cutting a pocket into each slice of bread), sandwich two slices of white sandwich bread together with the filling--sweetened and spiced cream cheese.
• Skip the conventional custardy French toast batter and coat the “sandwiches” in a light slurry of egg, water, flour and vanilla. The unique coating (borrowed from Japanese-style tempura) ensures a crisp-textured exterior to contrast with the creamy filling.
• Flavor the filling with apricot jam and almond extract.