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Crème Brûlée French Toast

Crème brûlée french toast with a crackling caramelized sugar crust and custardy centers. Thick-cut brioche or challah is dipped in a vanilla-egg custard, pan-fried until golden, then torched under a crisp sugar top.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: French, French-American
Calories: 620
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

French toast custard and cooking
  • 8 thick-cut brioche or challah bread
  • 4 eggs
  • 0.5 cup heavy cream
  • 0.5 cup whole milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 butter for cooking
Crème brûlée topping
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp butter
Serving
  • 1 maple syrup
  • 1 powdered sugar
  • 1 fresh berries

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Make the vanilla custard
  1. Whisk together eggs, heavy cream, whole milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a shallow dish until smooth.
Cook the French toast
  1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it foams lightly.
  2. Dip bread slices into the egg mixture, coating both sides well, and let excess drip back into the dish.
  3. Cook the bread in batches for 2-3 minutes per side until golden and custard-like inside.
  4. Arrange cooked French toast on serving plates.
Caramelize the crème brûlée top
  1. Mix together sugar and brown sugar.
  2. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over each toast and finish with butter, then caramelize using a culinary torch or a broiler until the surface crackles.
Serve
  1. Serve immediately with maple syrup, powdered sugar, and fresh berries.

Notes

Pro tip: torch the sugar right before serving so the crust stays glassy and crackly. Store leftovers refrigerated up to 2 days; rewarm gently in a skillet or oven and torch the sugar again if you want the top crisp. Freezing isn’t recommended for best custardy texture and crisp crust. For a dairy swap, use lactose-free whole milk and lactose-free heavy cream (the method stays the same).