This Pumpkin Creme Brûlée French Toast is everything you love about creme brûlée in French toast form. Brunch never tasted so good!
Creme Brûlée + French Toast
Is there anything better than French toast in the morning? Or creme brûlée?! We love a good sweet breakfast recipe like our French toast bake or our French toast sticks. And today, we’re comin’ atcha with as super fun pumpkin creme brûlée French toast.
Why you’ll love it!
Dessert or breakfast? It’s your call! This creme brûlée French toast makes for an amazing sweet treat or brunch idea — or both.
Fancy but oh so easy: this recipe feels fancy schmancy, but requires very little effort to make.
Simple ingredients: you only need 6 easy to find ingredients for this creme brûlée French toast.
Featured Ingredients
Egg yolk: whisk the egg yolk as the base of the spread that will top your brioche bread.
Ground cinnamon: sprinkle the cinnamon in the egg mixture. Mmm!
Brown sugar: now here’s where the creme brûlée situation comes in. You’ll mix some of the brown sugar in the egg mixture, and save some to sprinkle on the top of the toast. This will caramelize when you broil it in the oven 😀
Pumpkin puree: add this to the egg mixture, and then coat the brioche bread in this deliciously pumpkin-y flavor.
Brioche bread: we used a pre-sliced piece of brioche bread that was about ½ inch thick, but truly any variety of bread will work — we just love the flavor of brioche with the creme brûlée flavors.
Butter: we’re spreading butter on the brioche bread to toast to golden brown perfection in the skillet.
How to Make Pumpkin Creme Brûlée French Toast
For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card for a list of ingredients and instructions.
Prepare pumpkin spread
Add an egg to a small bowl and whisk. Then add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, salt, and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar to the egg and whisk all of the ingredients together.
Toast bread
Spread butter on each side of the brioche bread, and heat a medium sized cast iron skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, place the bread into the cast iron and toast one side of the bread until golden brown.
Add pumpkin spread + sprinkle brown sugar
Flip the piece of bread over and spread the pumpkin mixture over the toasted side of the bread and sprinkle with the rest of the brown sugar.
Broil Creme Brûlée Toast
Place the cast iron skillet into the oven on the middle shelf, and broil the toast on high until the brown sugar is completely melted.
Let rest, then crack!
Remove the cast iron from the oven, and let it rest for 5 minutes on a plate to allow the melted brown sugar to harden. Crack the brown sugar with a spoon or a knife to get that ‘creme brûlée’ crack and enjoy.
what to serve with creme brûlée French toast
Make this a complete meal by pairing with any of the following perfectly brunch-worthy recipes we have on Fit Foodie Finds:
Top Tips
Choosing bread: We used pre-sliced brioche bread that was about ½ inch thick for this French toast because we absolutely love the flavor of brioche. If you use a thicker piece of bread (any kind!), it may take longer for your bread to toast.
Don’t burn your toast! Place the cast iron skillet into the oven on the middle shelf when broiling — avoid the top shelf or your toast will burn. No one wants that!
Allow brown sugar to melt: Be sure you let the brown sugar melt completely before removing it from the oven. The cooled, melted brown sugar hardens and creates the creme brûlée top that cracks 😀
How to Make
Cold Brew Coffee
Check out this super simple tutorial on how to make your own cold brew coffee at home with just 2 ingredients!
FAQs
What is creme brûlée French toast?
It’s the best of both worlds! It’s French toast with a creme brûlée topping that cracks when you bite into it.
How do you toast sugar on creme brûlée?
We’re toasting the brown sugar on this creme brûlée French toast under the broiler in the oven.
Do people eat creme brûlée for breakfast?
In this case, yes! This pumpkin creme brûlée French toast is perfect served for breakfast.
Storage
While this pumpkin creme brûlée French toast is best enjoyed immediately, you can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
To reheat: warm up in the oven at 350°F for 5 minutes.
Pumpkin Creme Brûlée French Toast
Ingredients
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 5 teaspoons light or dark brown sugar separated
- 1 piece of brioche bread
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to high broil.
- Add an egg to a small bowl and whisk until homogeneous. Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, salt, and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar to the egg and whisk all of the ingredients together. Set aside.
- Spread ½ tablespoon of softened butter on each side of the brioche bread.
- Heat a medium sized cast iron skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, place the bread into the cast iron and toast one side of the bread for 1-2 minutes. Flip the piece of bread over and spread the pumpkin mixture over the toasted side of the bread and sprinkle with the rest of the brown sugar.
- Place the cast iron skillet into the oven on the middle shelf (not the top shelf, your toast will burn) and broil the toast for 2-3 minutes or until the brown sugar is completely melted.*
- Remove the cast iron from the oven and immediately remove the piece of toast from the cast iron and let it rest for 5 minutes on a plate to allow the melted brown sugar to harden.
- Crack the brown sugar with a spoon or a knife to get that ‘creme brulee’ crack and enjoy.
Tips & Notes
- We used a pre-sliced piece of brioche bread that was about ½ inch thick. If you use a thicker piece of bread, it may take longer for your bread to toast.
- Remember that every oven has a different strength of broiler. How long the brown sugar takes to melt may be determined by the strength of your broiler.
- Be sure you let the brown sugar melt completely before removing it from the oven. The cooled, melted brown sugar hardens and creates the creme brûlée top.
This color is great. Hopefully the taste will be the same as the color of the food.