Cooking Lesson #924: Crème Brulée Peachy French Toast

... from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

Craft Kitchen's Creme Brulee French Toast

How you doin’? For me, one of the greatest things about living in Henderson, Neveda is my home overlooks the famous Las Vegas Strip from afar and yet we still get culinary “stars” nearby.

One such person is Chef Jaret who helms the kitchen at and owns Craft Kitchen. You can usually find the Perspectives team enjoying happy hour at this casual eatery. Jaret has a long pedigree from some of the best hotels and restaurants on The Strip. Along with partner, Tami Blinn, an excellent pastry chef in her own right, they turn out food that has “come-back flavor.” And I come back almost weekly for their Crème Brulée French Toast. It is rich and eggy with its signature crisp and crunchy torched sugary shell. And now I’ve added the added bonus of fresh summertime fruit.

Biting into a succulent piece of stone fruit is the ultimate summer decadence—especially since stone fruit season graces us with its presence for just a few months out of the year. Adding sweet, sunny peaches to a tower of rich, eggy French toast? Well, that’s an indulgence of near epic proportions… and therefore, right up my alley!

I first cook the peaches in a grill pan so they caramelize and get those beautiful, blackened stripes—the contrast of smoky char and juicy sweetness is just scrumptious. Then I combine sugar and water in a hot pan to create a base for the syrup, and once it has simmered to a nice amber hue, I add a splash of dark rum and stir in the grilled peaches.

For the actual French toast part, I use thick, pillowy Texas-style toast or Hawaiian bread and dredge them in a classic milk and egg mixture. I cook them in the grill pan as well, so they get nice, crispy, and very lightly charred — and then, while they’re still hot, we coat them in a healthy layer of cinnamon and granulated sugar.

Those warm, cinnamony slabs of toast are divine with the boozy, caramelly, peach-laden syrup. The vanilla notes in the rum meld perfectly with the eggy toast and the juicy peaches. The custard cream filling is layered between the two slices of French toast. It’s an all-around sweet affair, which is why I love sprinkling a tablespoon or two of granulated sugar and hit it with my kitchen torch to brulée the top. Then I add the peaches and a dollop of crème fraîche on the side. That thick, tangy cream melts into the syrup.  It is so damn good.

Prep time:  1 hour
Chill time:  2 hours+
Cook time:  45 minutes
Yield:  4 servings
 
Ingredients 
For the custard cream filling
1/4 cup, plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, divided
1 cup whole milk
2 large egg yolks
1 whole large egg
1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

For the French toast
5 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cream
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
8 slices thick Texas toast
1/2 cup crème fraîche, for garnish

For the peach syrup
2 ripe peaches
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons dark rum
 
Directions
To make the custard cream filling

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, dissolve 1/8 cup of the sugar in the milk and heat until the milk is steaming. Reduce the heat to low.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and whole egg together.
3. Sift the cornstarch and 1/8 cup sugar into the eggs. Whisk vigorously until perfectly smooth and shiny, about 1 minute.
4. Slowly add one ladle of hot milk to the egg mixture to temper the eggs, while whisking continuously. Continue adding the hot milk one ladle at a time until about half of the milk has been added.
5. Pour the tempered eggs into the hot milk, whisking constantly.
6. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
7. Boil for 2 minutes until the pastry cream thickens.
8. Immediately transfer the pastry cream to a small bowl and stir in the butter and vanilla bean paste until completely melted.
9. Spread the top smooth and cover with food film placed directly in contact with the surface of the cream to prevent skin from forming.
10. Cool in the refrigerator until completely cold, about 2 hours. This can be made up to 3 days in advance.
11. Using a rubber spatula, stir out any lumps that may have formed in the pastry cream. Set it aside.
12. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the heavy whipping cream and remaining sugar. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form.
13. Stir 1/3 of the whipped cream into the pastry cream just until combined.
14. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the pastry cream mixture in two batches, being very gentle, so that your custard cream remains light and airy.
15. Cover and refrigerate until needed for filling.

To make the French toast

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream and baking powder. Set it aside.
2. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Set it aside.

To make the peach syrup

1. Slice the peaches in half and quarter each half into wedges, for a total of 16 wedges.
2. On a grill pan over medium-high heat, grill the peach wedges on each side, just until nice grill marks have formed, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the grilled peaches and set aside.
3. In a sauté pan, combine the granulated sugar and water and stir gently. Bring the pan to high heat, gently swirling occasionally, until the sugar begins to caramelize and turn amber in color.
4. Lower the heat to low and stir in the unsalted butter until completely melted, then pour in the dark rum and stir to combine. If the syrup is too thick, you can add hot water, stirring in 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have reached your desired consistency.
5. Stir the grilled peaches into the syrup, remove from heat and set aside.

To grill the French toast

1. Wipe out the grill pan and return it to medium-high heat.
2. Lightly dredge each slice of Texas toast in the egg and milk mixture, allowing any excess to drip off. Grill the French toast until slightly crispy and nice grill marks have formed, about 3 minutes per side.
3. Remove the grilled French toast and gently toss each slice in the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

To serve

1. Spread 3 tablespoons of the custard cream over one slice of French toast. Top with the second piece of French toast.
2. Sprinkle the top piece of the French Toast with granulated sugar and using your trusty kitchen torch melt the sugar on top.  If you don’t have a kitchen torch, put the toast stacks under the oven broiler, being careful not to burn.
3. Drizzle the warm syrup and peaches on the plate around the grilled French toast.
4. Garnish the plate with a dollop of crème fraîche.

ChefSecret:  Crème Brulée Peachy French Toast is an obvious choice for glamorous, boozy brunches with friends and family, but it’s also wonderful for a laid-back, late morning breakfast during your family’s weekend cottage stay. Also allowed: swapping the crème fraîche for a scoop of vanilla ice cream and calling it dessert, or swapping out the peaches for your favorite fruit!

Quip of the Day:  What’s a French toast’s favorite game? Eggo-tistical pursuit!
-------------------------------------------
Do you have a question or comment?  Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
-------------------------------------------
To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

#Entree #Brunch #Dessert #CremeBruleeFrenchToast #GrilledPeaches #2024Recipes #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 
 
                                                   ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2024

---