Creme Brulee French Toast | Project Pastry Queen

I have an egg intolerance. It sucks. I didn’t always have an intolerance for eggs, but its developed over the last few years. I’ve been tested and I’m not allergic so I can eat eggs but its not good. I feel sick for hours/days depending upon the quantity. The exception seems to be baked goods where eggs are not a major ingredient such as cookies. French toast is not one of those exceptions though. I considered skipping out on this week’s project but decided hubby would love this dish so I went ahead and fixed it (and tasted a couple bites cause I couldn’t resist). Rebecca wasn’t kidding when she said this dish was very rich; we definitely thought it was more bread pudding/dessert-ish than breakfast-ish. It was just so incredibly rich (and I used half-and-half instead of cream) that none of us could eat very much of it; not that I could anyway because of the egg content.

This post comes with a warning: Learn how to use your broiler. I’ve only used the broiler in our house once before. I have a double oven. Sounds amazing right? Except not. The top one which is tiny is where my broiler is located and its never heated properly. I actually thought it wasn’t on (why is there no visible flame with my gas broiler??) and walked and away and this was the result! The sugar definitely didn’t get all caramelized and pretty. I snapped a picture quickly with the intent of making another batch of french toast for a better photo but decided I’d keep it real

I’m not perfect in the kitchen. I burn stuff. I have failures for sure. But if they’re edible, we don’t stop ourselves from digging in. A few pieces were too crisp/burnt for eating, but we actually preferred the top crisp layer to the bottom softer layers. Definitely smoosh those layers down if you give this recipe a try; mine was too uneven which is what yielded the burnt tops + unmelted sugar. I’d highly recommend using a torch if you’ve got it!

Despite the burnt parts, we did enjoy this recipe. It also gave me a chance to try my hand at homemade Challah (a recipe to be posted another time). Definitely grab a glass of milk for this one and be sure to check out everyone else‘s results for this week’s Project Pastry Queen project! Oh and special thanks to Shawnda for choosing this week’s recipe!

Overnight Creme Brulee French Toast
Yields: 8-10 Servings

1 large loaf of challah
8 large egg yolks
4 cups heavy whipping cream or half-and-half
3/4 cup plus 3-4 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Grease a 2 1/2-quart-oven-safe casserole or souffle dish. Slice the challah into 1/2-inch slices, then into cuves. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cream, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, vanilla & butter. Put a quarter of the bread cubes in the casserole dish. Pour in enough of the cream mixture to cover the bread. Using a spoon, press the cream mixture into the bread so that it is thoroughly soaked.  Continue layering in the same way until all the bread is soaked with the cream mixture. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat 325°F. Put the casserole in a larger baking pan and set in the oven. Pour enough boiling water into the larger pan to reach halfway up the sides of the casserole/souffle dish. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the top is light brown and set.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with 3-4 Tablespoons of sugar in an even layer. Return to oven with broiler set on medium-high, or a kitchen torch to cook the topping until the sugar becomes brown and liquefies. (It will harden as it cools). Serve warm.

Source: The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather

Tagged as: Brunch, Sweets