french toast

Caramelized French Toast Recipe

Posted March 25, 2012 by Stephanie

Sometimes I think about a dish obsessively. It doesn’t have to be anything special or complicated; it’s usually something random and most likely, related to breakfast. Take for instance, this caramelized French toast. I must have thought about it for 3 days straight before I finally figured it out and made it.

I wanted to create a French toast that had what I think is the best part of creme brûlée: the caramelized sugar crust. I thought about it and thought about it, but I couldn’t figure it out: how would I create a crispy, sugary crust while cooking the eggy insides?

The crisp crust on creme brûlée is created by caramelizing sugar, so I figured if I dipped the bread into eggs, then sugar, then cooked it, I would essentially get the same effect. I ran the idea past Mike, who told me it would burn into a crazy sugary mess. What would be better, he said, would be mixing together sugar and butter. I wasn’t convinced, so I decided to Google it and lo and behold, right there on bonappetit.com, there’s a recipe for caramelized French toast.

I made sticks instead of slices just cause I wanted more caramelized deliciousness. These French toast sticks were just what I wanted: a crisp, shattering sugar shell giving way to eggy bread goodness. To think! I didn’t have to spend days thinking about French toast…

Lesson learned: Google is your friend, my friends. Use it.

I am caramelized, I am French: I am Caramelized French Toast!

Caramelized French Toast Recipe adapted from bonappetit.com
yield: 6 french toast sticks

  • 5 inch piece of baguette, cut into 6 sticks
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

Mix the butter and brown sugar in a bowl until thoroughly blended. Set aside. Whisk the egg, vanilla and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.

In a non-stick skillet, melt a bit of the brown sugar butter mixture over medium heat. Swirl the pan around so the sugar mixture is evenly distributed. Dip the baguette sticks 1 at a time in the egg mixture to coat and then place in the pan. Cook until the bottoms are deep brown and caramelized. Keep a close eye on the sticks so the sugar doesn’t burn. When the first side is brown and caramelized, melt more brown-sugar in the pan and turn the French toast sticks. Repeat until all four sizes are caramelized. Enjoy hot!

15 Comments

  1. Anders says:

    I LOVE your blog. Please keep writing, the food pics make me willing to try Everything and it all looks so delicious. This will be tomorrows breakfast for sure ;)

  2. Wow… that looks freaking fantastic. Nicely done! Your recipes are always so inventive, it’s great stuff.

  3. Anthony says:

    DOPE photos. These remind me of the jack in the box french toast sticks, and that’s a good thing!

  4. myfudo says:

    I love this wonderful French Toast variety. My household will definitely crave for this too! Thanks for sharing!

  5. Yum, yum, yum, thanks. I have saved for another day.

  6. Yash Pal says:

    I LIKE IT FRENCH TOAST!

  7. Ahhh the traditional french toast!

    Looks yummy! :-)

  8. beth says:

    Could I do this with any bread?

  9. Leo adam says:

    i have to try this one! by the way can i change the banguette into a regular bread?

  10. Rica says:

    Love this idea. .thanks for sharing

  11. Laurie says:

    AWESOME!!! This is by far the very best recipe I have found for French Toast. I have been searching for an amazing recipe and this one is it!

  12. Jared says:

    This recipe is out of this world. Best french toast I’ve EVER made. Thank you :)

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