French Toast Crème Brûlée

French Toast always reminds me of sunday morning breakfast as a child. I loved waking up to the smell of cinnamonny warm buttery bread...so comforting! So I've taken my mom's traditional recipe and given my own Masterchef spin. Thankfully it still retains that comforting aroma and tastes yum.

1 loaf of rich bread (I prefer Brioche)
1 1/3 cup of whole full fat milk
2/3 cup of cream
4 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar and 2/3 cup for the topping
1tsp Grand Marnier, Cointreau or any orange liqueur ( If you dont have liqueur your can use a zest of an orange)
2 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees celsius. Cut the loaf into thick slices.  Arrange the bread on a baking tray that can fit them in one layer. In a bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Pour the mixture over the slices. Turn the bread to ensure it soaks up the liquid evenly. Let the break soak the mix for atleast half hour. Arrange the bread with a little space so as to avoid making one mega-frech toast! Bake toast in the oven until a knife inserted into the centre of the slice does not release any liquid. 

Melt the remaining 2/3 cup of sugar in a heavy bottom pan. Make sure the saucepan is completely dry. Met the sugar over moderate heat, stirring occasionaly, till the sugar caramelizes into a honey coloured liquid.

Once the toasts are out of the oven, spoon some caramel over the top of the toast. Because your caramel will continue to deepen in colour as you work, its best to act quickly. Serve with fresh berries or some whipped cream.

Warning: Caramel is extremely hot and can easily burn you. Please wear mittens and handle carefully

Tip: If you feel too confident of being a Masterchef, sprinkle the sugar on top of the warm toast and use a blow torch to caramelize it.
If you spread your caramel too thick, you will have a candy lid and a nice crunch everytime you bite in. But I like spreading a thin layer so that I get that nice caramel flavour.
Use cinnamon in the egg mixture or add it to the sugar you are caramelizing to make the toasts simply irresistible.