Pain Perdu: Classic French Toast vs Maritozzi con la Panna (Sweet Buns with Cream)

Both desserts lean on milk, eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla, but they put them to very different work. In Pain Perdu, eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla become a custard soaked into stale brioche, which is then pan-fried in foaming butter until golden and lightly crisp, and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar. Maritozzi fold egg, butter and milk into an orange-zested yeast dough that is baked into golden buns, then split and filled with cold cream whipped with powdered sugar and vanilla. One is warm and custardy straight from the skillet; the other pairs a sweet, yeast-leavened bun with cool, airy whipped cream.