Before owning an inn, I was a die-hard purist when it came to French toast. I mastered the art of the perfectly griddled French toast: impeccable bread choice, perfect custard, crisp on the outside, airy on the inside with a hint of cinnamon. Of all the foods to be snobby about, this was my “thing”? There really is no backstory or tv-worthy incident – that’s just where my brain went and that was that.
When I knew I had to step up my breakfast game to prepare for owning an inn, I experimented with recipes. Some dishes were outright weird and not acceptable before that first cup of coffee. But I never messed with the sacred French toast.
After consuming hordes of cookbooks and Food Network shows (this is in the early 2000s with Emeril and Alton), I got to be pretty darn good at reading recipes and determining if they would “work out” before even bothering to see if I had the ingredients on hand. Then I stumbled upon this BAKED French toast recipe. Something about it cracked the pedestal on which stood French toast. When my taste-test victims sampled the result, there were sighs of happiness around the table. A star was born.
May I present to you the recipe most requested by our guests: Crème Brulee French Toast. This is how I’ve tweaked the original recipe and make it for our guests:
Crème Brulee French Toast | Holladay House Bed and Breakfast
(Makes 6 servings)
- 8 tablespoons butter (use coconut oil if dairy-free)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 loaf of sturdy bread, like French, Italian, challah or brioche (use gluten-free if needed)
- 5 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups half and half (use almond milk if dairy-free)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 teaspoon of orange juice
- Melt the butter and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan on low, stirring occasionally to help smooth out the caramel.
- Once fully smoothed out, pour into a 13x9x2 oven-safe pan and immediately smooth out the caramel to evenly coat the bottom of the pan.
PRO TIP: A silicone spatula will make smoothing out the caramel, well, smooth going.
- Depending on the bread girth, you’ll want either two 1” thick large slices of bread or three small 1” thick slices. For instance, if using a baguette, it’s skinny, so three 1” thick slices per person is perfect.
- Place all the bread in the pan in one layer.
- Whisk the remaining ingredients together. Slowly pour the mixture over the bread so there are no dry spots. Use up all the custard. There should be a good amount of custard just sitting in the pan – this is important.
- Cover and chill overnight
- The next morning, uncover and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-45 minutes. You want to see the whole thing puff up and the tops turn golden.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for about 5 minutes. The toast will deflate a bit during this time.
- To serve, use a spatula to release each French toast piece and place caramel-side up on your warmed plate. Garnish with fresh fruit and powdered sugar.
In the spirit of experimentation, I am thinking about adding sliced apples or peaches after the caramel and before the bread is placed in the pan. What do you think?
If you try this recipe tag us on Instagram or Facebook and show us how it turned out! Let me know if you’ve experimented with this recipe too and what you added in the comments.
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