# French Toast inspired by Hélène Darroze

This recipe elevates French toast by caramelizing sugar on top for a crunchy exterior and extra flavor.

- Cuisine: American
- Category: Breakfast
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 2 cups whole milk
- 1.25 cup heavy cream
- 2 egg yolks
- 0.25 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp vanilla paste
- Unsalted butter
- 1 Tsp vegetable oil
- Thick slices of Brioche bread or Challah Bread
- Granulated sugar
- Pastry cream
- berries

## Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream and vanilla.
2. Heat on medium-low until a lightly simmering.
3. Take off heat and set aside to cool slightly.
4. While your mixture is heating up, in a mixing bowl, whisk your egg yolks and sugar until light in color.
5. Add 1/4 of the milk into your egg mixture while whisking continuously, add the remaining milk mixture and mix.
6. Strain the mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a simmer.
7. Take off heat and cool.
8. Transfer to a baking dish big enough to soak your loaf.
9. Slice your loaf into thick pieces, soak each side in the batter for 2 minutes.
10. While your bread is soaking, add your butter and vegetable oil into a pan.
11. Once the butter melts, place your slice of soaked bread in the pan.
12. Cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
13. Once the French toast is cooked, transfer to a cooling rack.
14. Cool for about 2 minutes, then add your granulated sugar on one side of the French toast.
15. Place your French toast, sugar side down, back into your pan and cook until the sugar fully caramelizes.
16. Take off heat.
17. Cool for a minute.
18. Serve with your favorite toppings.

## Equipment

- medium saucepan
- mixing bowl
- baking dish
- pan
- cooling rack

## Tips

- The key is to only flip your French toast once.
- Make sure the side facing down is cooked before you flip the bread.
- Cool caramelized French toast for a minute to harden the sugar.

## Source

- Original video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTqAyyJEaJJ/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/f01ffc29-10e7-4a74-b6ad-8f3f009bc93d
- Extracted: 2026-01-29

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt