I made a "fancy French toast" for breakfast for my housemates one morning (first picture). I took leftover brioche and soaked it in custard, pan-fried it, covered it in sugar, and brûléed it with a kitchen torch. I served it with a salted caramel-rum sauce and "whipped creme fraiche" (creme fraiche whipped with heavy cream to stiff peak).

The second picture is similar to the first recipe, but I used red bean-swirled milk bread. Then I added black sesame powder (you can use paste too) to the custard, then sandwiched the finished French toast with more red bean paste.

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Base Recipe

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• 2-3 slices leftover bread, preferably dry or stale. I like to use brioche, challah, thick Asian milk bread, or sourdough

• 2 egg yolks

• 1 Tablespoon granulated or brown sugar

• 1/4 cup whole milk

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Zest and juice or one orange or lemon (optional)

• Pinch salt

• Butter or oil for cooking

• Extra sugar for brûlée (optional)

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Topping ideas
 

• Caramel sauce (pictured, recipe below)

• Maple syrup

• Powdered sugar

• Fruit

• Chocolate

• Whipped cream

• Whipped creme fraiche cream (pictured)

• Nut butter, tahini, or bean pastes for sandwiching

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Instructions

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1. Whisk yolks, sugar, milk, cream, vanilla, zest, juice, and salt together until fully combined. Place in a shallow dish.

2. Dip pieces of bread in the custard until soaked on both sides. Remove to a wire rack to drip excess custard.

3. Heat butter or oil in a large skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat. Add slices of French toast and cook until golden brown on both sides. 

4. To brûlée , sprinkle white or demerara (whole cane sugar) over the top of the French toast and lightly torch it with a kitchen torch. You could also heat the sugar in the pan and place the French toast on top, waiting until the sugar has melted and caramelized. Quickly flip out onto a plate.

5. Serve with whatever you want (lmao).

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Salted Caramel Sauce
 

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 6 Tablespoons cubed unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or miso paste to taste)

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1. Heat granulated sugar in a saucepan until melted, stirring often. Once melted and beginning to caramelize (have color), deglaze with butter. Be careful of the steam. Add heavy cream and salt. Simmer over low heat and whisk for 2 minutes to emulsify and thicken. Cool.

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