TRADER JOE'S Chocolate Filled French Toast - Product Review

Trader Joe’s knows what they’re doing.  From their colorful eye-catching displays, to their equally colorful eye-catching employees, to their clever store ad dubbed Fearless Flyer, they know a little something about luring people into their establishment.  Of course luring people is one thing, keeping them is another.  I was recently lured in by a paragraph in their latest Flyer on a new-to-me product called Chocolate-Filled French Toast.  Brioche dough, dark chocolate?  I am there!   Struggling to find it amongst the morning buns and pain au chocolat, I snagged a worker in a Magnum, PI shirt and pleaded for directions.

“Oh, honey!” he exclaimed, rolling his eyes, “Follow me!”   He crooked his finger over his left shoulder motioning me to follow, and I did.  In true Vanna White fashion, he spread out his arms at the spot in the dairy case where the product was located, winked at me and said, “You will love it.”

Having read a variety of reviews – not all of them favorable – I wondered.  Frankly I couldn’t imagine how one could possibly go wrong with this combination, so I gave it a try.  It was wonderful! (This is not a paid endorsement, by the way, I’m only too happy to spread the word when I stumble across deliciousness that is so easy to prepare.)  Crispy on the outside, custard-y on the inside, with the perfect amount of melted chocolate made this a real winner.  The secret here is to make certain that the product stays in the freezer until your oven has come up to the right temperature.  I used a countertop convection oven that, conveniently, beeps at me when the temperature is correct.  Pop it in directly from the freezer and then leave it in until it has puffed slightly.  I found that an additional five minutes in the oven yielded perfect results.

Thumbs up on this one.  I will definitely be back for more!