Great French Toast is impossible to resist. Unfortunately, in restaurants we too often receive a limp, soggy and eggy excuse for the real thing.

It's just sad.

Well, if you want something done right, sometimes you just have to do it yourself! French toast is a perfect lazy Sunday brunch solution. It's quick and easy enough for a late weekend start in the kitchen, but still tastes special enough to merit a leisurely lingering at the breakfast table – the way weekend days are supposed to start off!

Since pretty much everyone already knows how to make a basic French toast, I won't include a recipe here – what I will do is offer up 5 tips that you can use to transform your everyday French Toast into a classic.

5 steps to better French Toast

1. Start with the right bread

Skip the wonder bread and get yourself started right with thick slices of Challah egg bread or brioche. Also, although the name might lead you to contemplate "French Bread" for your French toast, softer Challah or brioche is a much better choice.

2. Use stale bread

Dry bread provides a much better platform for a French Toast. Cut as many slices as needed before you go to bed on Saturday night for a Sunday morning brunch and leave them out on the counter to dry. The slightly dried slices will soak up the custard much better than freshly cut slices.

3. Use thick slices of bread

The best French Toast is crispy browned on the outside and creamy rich on the inside. It's hard to achieve this contrast if using thin supermarket breads. Cut your slices almost a full inch thick for the very best French Toast.

4. Skip the milk and use cream instead

When you soak the bread in the egg mixture, you infuse the bread with a custard. Custards taste better when made with cream. For your next French Toast, substitute Heavy cream or half and half for the milk and see what a difference it makes.

5. Use butter to fry, and use a lot of it

There is no substitute for butter when frying up some French toast. Butter flavor is needed here, and you need enough melted butter in the pan to ensure that your toast gets fried crisped, and not soggy steamed. If you're on a diet, don't eat French toast. If you eat French toast, you might as well do it right – so don't skimp on the butter!

If you're frying for a crowd, keep slices warm in a 300 degree oven as you cook. Serve with good homemade jam, real honey or real maple syrup and a little powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

A great way to start the day!