You should be able to get a reasonable steak stovetop using a cast iron grill pan, if you have a strong enough exhaust. Oil the cast iron pan (with canola or such), then heat it very hot, until it starts to smoke. Make sure the meat is completely dry on the outside (wipe with a paper towel, water will prevent browning) and gently place in the pan. Leave it there for a minute or two (it'll smoke quite a bit!), rotate 90° to get the nice grill marks. Leave for another minute or two. Flip, and repeat for the other side.
It may splatter, have a splatter screen handy. It will smoke, quite a bit, make sure the exhaust is on high.
You will probably have a medium-rare steak now. Using a thinner cut will make it more well done (you can cut a thick steak in half with your chef's knife, making two thin steaks); so will plopping it in the oven (not sure if you want the oven before or after searing, I like 'em medium rare...).
Remember to let the meat rest for 5 minutes or so before serving.
Also, if your steaks are coming out ridiculously tough, you're probably using the wrong cut of meat, or some terrible grade. What cut are you using?
[edit: I should note that, in case it wasn't obvious, the burner should be up pretty high]
Edit by rumtscho There is a reason this answer specifies a cast iron pan. If you are limited in your cookware choice, pay attention to the maximum temperature your pan can tolerate. If you are using a non-stick pan, you have to go on medium heat and wait longer, else you'll damage the pan. (And sorry, but you can't get it as tasty as on high heat that way).
Topside is quite a tough cut, so I'd tend towards a longer cooking time; as 'low and slow' as possible, really. With other meats, escalopes are usually made using leaner cuts, like chicken breast or pork tenderloin, which would be cooked relatively quickly, so I'm surprised your recipes call for topside.
Best Answer
The problem that most people make when doing a breading is that they try to put on too thick of a coating of any given layer.
Breading sticks because wet sticks to dry, and visa-versa. As such, you need to give the item a good shake after it leaves each dry station, and a moment or so to drip (and a little bit of shaking here helps, too) after it leaves a wet station.
I've also seen recommendations to let the breaded item sit for a while before cooking -- I can only assume that this is to allow moisture to migrate into the dry breading, or for the egg to set up some before it turns to steam (which could result in that layer separating).
So, some suggestions to fix your recipe: