French Toast Brûlée

Ingredients

• 1 extra large egg
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons Grade B maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 slices sandwich bread (3 slices if it's thick cut)
• 4 teaspoons butter
• 8 teaspoons granulated sugar (2 teaspoons per slice)

Instructions

1. 1
   In a flat rectangular pan or baking dish, whisk together the egg, milk, maple syrup, flour and vanilla. Submerge each slice of bread in the liquid, arranged in a single layer. Cover and refrigerate overnight, flipping the bread over once after a few hours.
2. 2
   Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Place a teaspoon of butter where you’re going to fry each slice of bread (if they’re not all going to fit, fry them in batches). When the butter is melted, place each piece of bread over a pool of butter. The bread will be very soft, so be careful not to tear it.
3. 3
   Fry until golden brown on one side, then flip using a spatula and fry the other side until golden brown.
4. 4
   When the French toast is done, transfer it to a wire rack, then dust 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar on each piece of toast. Use a torch to caramelize the sugar until it is brown and bubbly. If you don’t have a torch, you can use a broiler by moving the rack to the top position and placing the toast directly under the heating element.