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Torrijas, The Perfect Dessert for Breakfast

A mixture of brioche bread, heavy cream, sugar, and eggs makes for a celebratory breakfast dessert.

Ingredients

  • 1 whole rectangular loaf of brioche bread
  • 3 cups of heavy cream
  • 3 cups of whole milk
  • 1.5 cups white granulated sugar
  • 12 egg yolks
  • 3 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

  • Cut the crust off the exterior of a whole brioche loaf.
  • Save crusts to make a small bread pudding for later.
  • Cut the remaining crustless loaf of brioche into 2” thick slices.
  • Place the slices in a casserole dish.
  • Bring 3 cups heavy cream and 3 cups milk to a temperature just below a simmer. This liquid will eventually be mixed with raw egg yolks, and if the temperature is too hot, the eggs will scramble.
  • Aggressively whisk together 1.5 cups sugar with 12 egg yolks.
  • Slowly whisk a small amount of the warm cream into the egg and sugar mixture.
  • Once you have slowly combined roughly 2 cups of liquid with the eggs using a whisk, return that liquid back into the rest of the cream and milk mixture and whisk carefully to combine.
  • Add the vanilla extract and ground cinnamon.
  • Allow the mixture to cook for an additional 4-7 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
  • Remove the cooked mixture from the stove top and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
    Pour the mixture over the brioche bread slices.
  • Give the bread time to soak in the liquid, turning the slices very gently every hour.
  • For best results, allow the slices to soak in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight.
  • Cook the slices in a nonstick pan in some butter until they are golden brown on the outside, but still soft and moist in the middle.
  • Serve with coffee ice cream, and a hot cup of coffee.

Notes

The insides of the brioche slices will still be very moist when you are done cooking the outsides.
You can broil the slices in the oven on parchment paper on a sheet tray if you prefer to cook them all at once. Once the pieces take on color under the broiler, remove them from the oven and serve hot.