Creme Brulee French Toast Recipe

Crème brûlée French toast is just as luxurious as it sounds: think warm, custard-soaked brioche with a rich, creamy layer and a delicate, crisp layer of caramel on top.

The key to making the custard topping for this is to make sure that your heat isn't too high so you don't end up scrambling the egg yolks. To do this, you'll be cooking the custard in a bain-marie – a bowl set on top of a pan of simmering water.

You can also see how I made this on my YouTube channel:

Ready? Let's go.

Serves two.

Ingredients for French Toast:

2 eggs
150ml whole milk
2 thick slices of brioche

Ingredients for Custard:

2 egg yolks
2 tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp single cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Ingredients for Brulee Topping:

An extra 2 tsp caster sugar

Method:

1. Whisk the eggs and milk together until well-combined, pour into a large dish big enough to fit the two slices of bread, and dip the slices of bread in the mixture on all sides. Leave the bread to soak for about five minutes, flipping them over halfway through to make sure as much of the liquid as possible is absorbed.

2. While the bread's soaking, make the custard: place the egg yolks and sugar in a large heatproof bowl, and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water (make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl). Whisk for five to 10 minutes until the yolk mixture is super fluffy, pale and warm. Take care that the heat's not too high, or you'll get scrambled eggs. Once the yolk mixture has fluffed up, whisk in the cream and vanilla, take off the heat and set aside.

3. To cook your French toasts, simply lightly-oil a large frying pan and cook on both sides for a couple of minutes, until golden brown (if you have a lid, cover the pan to help steam the inside of the toast).

4. Plate up your toasts and spread the custard on top of each slice. Sprinkle a teaspoonful of caster sugar onto each slice, and caramelise with a kitchen blowtorch or under the grill of your oven.

Enjoy, and have fun.