Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 quart whipping cream
1 vanilla bean
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 to 2 pounds challah bread, about 1 extra-large large loaf, or other soft-textured egg bread, cut into inch-thick slices
3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Real maple syrup, warmed
Sliced fresh strawberries or other seasonal fruit
Softly whipped cream
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Directions: |
Directions:Butter a 10-inch springform pan. Wrap the bottom and sides with foil, making the pieces long enough to fold up and over the top of the pan while baking. A criss-cross pattern of two or more long pieces of foil works best.
Combine the cream and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan over medium heat just long enough to warm the cream, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the mixture steep until cool, about 15 minutes. Pour the cream into a mixing bowl, straining out the vanilla bean. Cut the bean open lengthwise, and scrape out all the fragrant little black seeds. (The remaining vanilla pod can be dried and then added to sugar to use for the next batch of French toast or other dishes.) Stir the vanilla seeds back into the cream.
Add the egg yolks and sugar to the cream, then whisk the custard mixture until well-combined and uniformly light yellow. Make a layer of bread slices, cutting or tearing slices as needed to fit evenly. Pour about 1/4 of the custard mixture evenly over the bread. Repeat with three more layers of bread and custard. The bread may rise a bit above the rim of the pan on the last layer. Pour the remaining custard over it slowly so that you get minimal run-off over the pan’s edge. Fold the foil up over the top. Arrange a plate over the foil and weight it down with a can of beans or other heavy can from the pantry. Refrigerate for about 1 hour, so that the custard soaks through the bread thoroughly. Remove the can and the plate.
Shortly before the mixture is done soaking, preheat the oven to 325 F. Place the springform pan in a water bath that comes about half-way up the pan’s side. Bake about 1½ hours, until firm at the center. Open the foil top and cool the French toast. Fold the foil back over and chill until ready to use. (If you need your springform pan for something else, the French toast can be unmolded after several hours, when it is chilled thoroughly. Run a knife around the inside of the pan, then release the spring on the pan’s side. Wrap the French toast tightly in plastic for longer storage).
When you are ready to serve the French toast, preheat the oven to 350 F. Cut the French toast into 8 wedges, or more or less as you wish. Arrange the wedges on a baking sheet, then brush each wedge lightly with melted butter. Bake for about 10 minutes, until warm in the center and lightly toasted and crisp on the surface. (You don’t actually have the caramel topping of crème brûlèe, but you get its familiar creamy custard and contrasting crunchy surface.) Arrange each wedge on a plate, surround with a pool of maple syrup, and garnish with fruit and whipped cream. Indulge yourself.
TIP
The initial preparation can be done up to several days ahead of the final quick baking and serving, a handy feature for home and professional cooks alike. |
This recipe for Baked Creme Brulee French Toast is from