Baked Créme Brülée French Toast

Larry picked this recipe out when I asked him if he wanted me to make a nice breakfast this weekend. I'm not much of a breakfast person, but he likes it when I make breakfast. One thing I really don't like is French toast, but this sounded interesting so I made it anyway. It had all of the flavor of créme brûlée, but the texture is very different. It comes from Chez Zee in Austin.

My only difficulty was deciding how I was going to cut the recipe down to two servings without sacrificing the presentation (the full recipe makes eight servings). Thick slices of challah are put into a 10-inch springform pan, followed by a quarter of the custard (cream, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla bean), followed by three more layers of challah and custard. I compromised, and used a 4.5-inch springform, and smashed in three layers of challah. The last layer was above the rim of the pan, but I think it made a nice crust.

After layering, the springform goes into the refrigerator to soak and chill for an hour. After that, it goes into the oven for the first time. It's supposed to cook for an hour and a half, but I left it in for just an hour since I had a smaller springform. After this step, it can be cooled and put into the refrigerator for up to several days. I did all of the work up to this point last night. This morning, I unmolded the bread/custard and sliced it into wedges before popping it into the oven for another ten minutes.

The beauty of this dish is that it can be made ahead. The final warming step is only 10 minutes. It's interesting, delicious, and would be great for a crowd.

• Baked Créme Brülée French Toast (A Real American Breakfast, p. 118)
• Willie Bird Turkey Bacon
• Fresh Orange Juice