crème brûlée french toast
This french toast is basically pulla meets creme brulee in the best way. It starts with a soft, cardamom scented braided bread, then each slice gets soaked in a vanilla custard and pan fried until golden. The final step is the reason you make it: a layer of sugar torched on top until it turns into a crisp, crackly brulee shell. Finished with cardamom whipped cream and fresh raspberries, it’s warm, rich, and worth the extra steps.
Is French toast actually French?
French toast isn’t actually “French” in the way the name implies; it’s an old, practical idea that shows up in a lot of cultures long before it became a breakfast classic. The basic concept (soaking stale bread in egg and milk, then frying it) goes back to ancient Rome, where cooks used it as a way to waste less bread. In France it exists too, but it’s traditionally called pain perdu, meaning ‘lost bread’ because it was a way to revive bread that had gone stale. The name “French toast” became popular in English much later, and the dish spread and evolved into the version we know today - sweet, custardy, and served like a weekend treat.
How to make creme brulee french toast?
Let’s start the recipe! First make the bread. Sprinkle yeast on top of warm milk, stir and let sit for about 5 minutes or until foaming. Then place the milk mixture in a large bowl and add 1 egg, 1 vanilla bean (seeds only), cardamom, salt, and 1/2 cup of sugar. Whisk until smooth and then knead in half of the flour. Once well combined add rest of the flour and knead until the dough is smooth. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the dough on a counter top and divide it into 3 even pieces. Roll the pieces into long logs (about 18-20”) and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Braid the bread and tuck the ends in. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400f. Crack the remaining egg in a bowl and give it a quick whisk. Brush the bread braid with the egg and bake for 20-25 minutes on the middle rack until golden brown. Place the bread on a wire rack to cool and cover with a kitchen towel. Meanwhile make the custard base. Whisk the egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar in a medium size bowl and set aside. In a small sauce pan, bring 2 cups of cream to simmer. Whisk in vanilla bean (seeds only). Then slowly pour the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking vigorously. Cover and set aside. Make whipped cream by whisking 1 cup cold cream, 1 tbsp sugar and a pinch of cardamom together. Whisk on high speed for about 5-8 minutes until soft peaks form. Place in a piping bag and set aside. Slice the bread into 1” pieces. Melt 1 tbsp butter on a medium pan over medium low heat. Dunk the bread slice into the cooled custard base for a few seconds and then cook it in the butter for about 3 minutes on each side. Repeat with the rest, adding butter as needed. Sprinkle a layer of sugar on top of each French toast. Using a kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar. Wait about 2 minutes until the sugar has cooled and hardened, then plate it. Serve with the whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
Tips
When rising the dough make sure it doubles in size - if it doesn’t give it some more time. If the room is too cool place it in front of a space heater.
When making the custard base pour the hot cream slowly into the egg yolk mixture while whisking vigorously to prevent the eggs from scrambling. This process of pouring hot liquid into egg yolks to slowly cook them with control without letting them scramble is called tempering.
Recommended products to make this recipe
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