This Hong Kong French Toast is the classic one you will find at Hong Kong-style cafes. I'm cooking it in the most traditional way which is stuffing it with a custard filling (not peanut butter) and deep-frying it.

plate of Hong Kong French toast drizzled with condensed milk and a slab of butter,

I remember the first time I had Hong Kong French Toast. It was at a Hong Kong-style cafe in Vancouver. My wife is Cantonese, and she is absolutely obsessed with Hong Kong-style cafes. If we ever need a place to eat for dinner, it's always the first place she suggests.

One of the best versions I had was at a restaurant in Hong Kong. The inside was filled with custard, and there were three layers of fluffy white bread. Every recipe I've seen online uses peanut butter for the filling, but personally, I've only had it served with custard. So for this recipe, I'm going to use a custard filling.

How to make the custard filling

It's the same filling they put inside fruit tarts or custard-filled donuts. The key ingredients are cornstarch and flour which help thicken the custard. When you pour in the hot milk, you will need to whisk the egg mixture constantly so that the egg doesn't curdle.

How to give it a tall height

You have to stack 3 pieces of bread like the picture below. You can use any type of bread, but my personal favorite is Chinese milk bread or Japanese shokupan. They are made with milk and eggs so the crumb is very rich.

spreading custard filling on slice of bread.

three slices of thick bread stacked on top of each other.

Deep-frying vs. air-frying

Traditionally, Hong Kong French toast is deep-fried. This is my favorite method because it makes the dessert very rich—and HK French toast is meant to be rich. I deep-fried mine at 350°F for 2-3 minutes until it was golden brown on both sides.

Hong Kong french toast being deep-fried in hot oil.

deep-fried version of French toast on wire rack.

I know many people do not like deep-frying, so also tested this recipe in the air fryer. The air-fried version is much less greasy. It doesn't have the same level of richness, but it is still super delicious. If you want to air-fry it, I'd say, go ahead!

assembled Hong Kong French toast in air fryer basket.

air fried version of French toast on wire rack.

One problem with the air-fried version is the bottom is not as smooth because of the air fryer tray. But it doesn't affect the taste at all.

Hong Kong French Toast

Unlike other recipes, this one uses a custard filling instead of peanut butter. Deep-frying is the classic method to cook it, but air-frying also works. I've included instructions for both!

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine Cantonese, Chinese

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Custard filling

¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 large egg
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Egg wash

2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk

Other

6 pieces white bread (I'm using thick milk bread)
sweetened condensed milk (for serving)

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and egg.
In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. Gradually add the milk to the egg mixture and whisk constantly until smooth. Pour the liquid back into the saucepan and whisk constantly until it boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
Grab 3 slices of bread. Spread a thin layer of the custard filling between each slice and sandwich them together.
In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs and milk.
Coat the sandwich in the egg wash, then deep fry at 350°F until golden brown or spray with oil and air fry at 400°F for 8 minutes, flipping once in between.
Transfer to a plate and drizzle on sweetened condensed milk. Enjoy!

Notes

*The recipe makes enough custard for 2 batches of this recipe. I couldn't make any less because you need one full egg to make the custard.

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