My favorite meal of the day is breakfast. That first bite of goodness gives peace to a manic morning. Growing up, I remember waking every Sunday to a sweet scent wafting from the kitchen. If it weren’t for that fragrance, I could have easily stayed in bed most of the day.
I’m trying to carry on the Sunday goodness by making traditional breakfast with a twist. French toast is classic Americana! No brunch, breakfast or menu is complete without a good great French toast recipe.
The inspiration to create new, fun dishes comes from so many places. For me, the strongest inspiration is scent. When I smell something it takes me back to my mom’s kitchen or that teeny tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant we found on our honeymoon.
Ever heard of ‘Scent of a Woman,’ yep, it’s a powerful thing what the nose knows!
Renuzit, the brand known for fruity and flowery air fresheners challenged my sense of scent. They have a new line called Tempting Indulgences and sent me this Creme Brulee air freshener to inspire me to create a dessert. I love a good challenge, as evidenced in my previous food contests!
Since their slogan was to “Make Every Day Sweeter,” I thought…how can we bring dessert into the everyday? Use everyday ingredients! Here’s a quick peek into my cart. For more of my shopping trip, check out my Google+ photo album.
I love Creme Brulee, the creamy rich custard with the hard sugar shell on top. But since I don’t normally (or ever) keep a blow torch handy, I wanted to find a way to bring the custard and candy top to French toast.
Without further ado, I give you CREME BRULEE FRENCH TOAST. No blow torch required. Truly every day cooking.
For the nutty sugar taste on top, I used dark brown sugar. I recommend using 3/4 cup packed.
I came across a lot of recipes that recommend using Challah bread for baked French toast. I couldn’t find any, so I opted for French bread and it worked great. I used 2 day old bread. It was able to absorb the liquid better than if the bread had been fresh.
After melting the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup together, pour in a 9×13 pan and place 1 inch bread slices in a single layer.
Now mix together the eggs, half and half and Vanilla extract. This is the Creme Brulee custard!
Bread bath! Pour the custard all over the bread, making sure to completely soak it. Cover it and let it chill for a couple hours, I left it in the refrigerator overnight.
The brown sugar and corn syrup make a sticky, sweet topping on this super easy recipe. No extra syrup (or blow torch) required!
Ingredients
- 6-8 1 inch slices of French Bread
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of half and half
- 1 Tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add brown sugar and corn syrup. Mix until sugar is totally dissolved. Pour into 9x13 baking dish.
- Arrange bread slices in a single layer.
- Whisk together eggs and vanilla extract, and pour over bread. Cover and chill 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven 350 degrees and bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes.
- Should look puffy and browned.
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Hi! I'm Isra, aka The Frugalette. I took my family from fancy to frugal in 3 years, with 3 kids and 1 income, oh and found the meaning of life too! To read more about my fancy life gone frugal, 
Oh my yumminess – this looks amazing! I love Cream Brulee so I can't wait to try this!
Creme Brulee is my favorite dessert, hope you like it!
This looks wonderful and I love the pictures. I may have to give it a try.
Thanks! Bon Apetit!
Ooh that looks yummy. I'll have to try this after baby comes!
This is a great dish that can keep in the fridge after baking, just reheat on the stove!
The pictures alone are making my mouth water. Will definitely have to try this soon.
Mission accomplished.
That looks amazing!
Thanks Erika!
This sounds so amazing and looks mouthwatering. I love french toast!! You really should try it with challah though too. Maybe my husband will let me post his recipe. He makes it about every other week from scratch and I looooove it. It makes the BEST french toast and I would love to try this recipe next time he makes it!
I agree Janet! I'll try it with Challah next time!
well that's totally unique! And sounds amazing. I have to show these to my husband!
Thanks! I love trying classic recipes with a twist.
That has got to be some of the best looking french toast I have ever seen. I bet it tasted amazing!
Thanks so much! It was pretty yummy!
This looks so yummy! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Oh yum! and really so easy, which is great!
Oh my goodness! I love french toast, and the creme brulee combination sounds incredible!
Can't wait to try this recipe!
Wow….that looks amazing….I wonder if I could sub the corn syrup for something else…hmmmm…
You could substitute for maple syrup and I bet it would taste almost the same!
you can also use treacle a cane syrup
Yum! My family is always begging me to make french toast! I'll have to give this recipe a try!
What's wrong with having dessert for breakfast?
Not a thing.
Yummy! I am going to make it this weekend!
There's no half & half listed in the recipe…?
Ack! So sorry, will edit now! It's 1 1/2 cups of half and half! Thanks for letting me know!
I made it and it was amazing!