Although historically deep-fried in olive oil, torrijas—Spain’s quintessential Holy Week dessert that falls someplace between French toast and bread pudding—are subtler and fewer greasy when baked, as this knockout recipe from Madrid’s Panem bakery goes to point out. Challah or good white sandwich bread could also be substituted for the brioche. If you happen to personal a kitchen torch, you should utilize it in lieu of the broiler in step 5 to brûlée the bread on the highest and sides. Panem doesn’t high its torrijas with cinnamon sugar, however the taste mixture is so basic that it felt like heresy to exclude it utterly. Torrijas will hold in an hermetic container within the fridge for 3 days, although they lose their sugary crunch after a day or so. The bread slices could also be halved into rectangles in step 2 for smaller servings.
Featured in “Torrijas Are Spanish ‘French’ Toast—With a Few Tantalizing Twists,” by Benjamin Kemper.
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup entire milk
- 1 cup sugar, divided
- 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
- 6 giant egg yolks
- ½ vanilla bean, cut up lengthwise, seeds scraped (pod reserved for an additional use)
- Six 1½-in.-thick day-old brioche slices, crusts eliminated (about 11 oz.)
- Cinnamon sugar, for dusting (non-obligatory)-sugar for dusting, non-obligatory
Directions
- In a big bowl, whisk collectively the cream, milk, ⅓ cup of the sugar, the lemon zest, egg yolks, and vanilla bean seeds. Cowl and refrigerate to infuse for six–24 hours.
- Lower the bread into six 4-inch squares, then prepare in a single layer in a medium baking dish. Utilizing a fine-mesh strainer, pressure the custard combination evenly over the bread. Cowl and refrigerate till completely soaked, about 24 hours.
- Place a rack within the middle of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Place a big wire rack over a number of layers of paper towels. Utilizing a spatula, switch the bread slices to the rack to dry barely, about half-hour. (Discard any remaining liquid or reserve for an additional use.)
- Place the wire rack with the bread over a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake till the slices are dry on the edges however nonetheless pale, 8–12 minutes. Put aside till cool.
- Place a rack within the high third of the oven and preheat the broiler. Sprinkle the remaining ⅔ cup of sugar evenly over the bread slices. Broil, rotating the baking sheet midway by way of cooking (and checking the toasts each minute or so to forestall burning), till the tops are amber in coloration, 3–5 minutes.
- Switch to a platter, mud with cinnamon sugar if desired, and serve heat, chilly, or at room temperature.
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