Air-Fryer French Toast Bites

The problem with regular French toast is geometry. A flat slice has two sides — the top and the bottom — and the four edges, which barely register as surface area. Both faces touch the pan, both faces crisp, and the middle stays soft. Cubed French toast is sixfold: each face of each cube becomes a surface, and the air fryer hits them all at the same time. You get six crackling crusts per bite instead of two.

The custard is the standard ratio — one egg per ⅓ cup of milk, vanilla, cinnamon, a pinch of salt. The bread should be slightly stale; fresh bread turns to mush in the soak. Day-old brioche is ideal, day-old challah is also ideal, regular sandwich bread works in a pinch but ends up softer. Soak briefly — under thirty seconds per cube, you're not brining a turkey — then arrange in the basket and air fry at 360°F for about eight minutes. Halfway through, shake. They go from pale to crackling in the last two minutes; watch them.

The photo shows the finish: dusted with powdered sugar (do this AFTER they cool slightly or the sugar melts in), served with maple syrup in a small bowl on the side for dipping or spearing. A small gold fork because it's that kind of breakfast.