Brioche Crunchy French Toast

One of my favorite places to go for brunch in NYC is Normas at Le Parker Meridien. They have a fantastic Crunchy French Toast that I have been wanting to recreate.

I apologize for not having taken any pictures of the process. If I do this again, I will take pictures of it and add it to this post.

I first did a full recipe of Brioche. The yield is 3 1/2 LB. I baked it in a large loaf pan. I then froze the loaf to make it easier to cut. I cut it into 10 large slices. I put the slices onto a sheet pan and let it stale out at room temperature for 5 full days.

I made a batter with:
12 whole eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup cornstarch

I whisked all the ingredients together.

The batter is just a typical french toast batter, but I added the cornstarch to help keep the coating on them.

I soaked them, 2 at a time, about a minute on each side in the batter. I put about 3 cups of Rice Krispies in a bowl and ground them up somewhat by hand. I transferred the slices that were soaking to the Rice Krispies and coated them gently & completely.

I then deep fried them at 350 degrees for about two minutes. Pan frying would also probably work if you used enough oil.

I then covered them in a simple caramel sauce:
1/4LB Dark Brown Sugar
1 Stick Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
pinch Salt
1 Tbs Brandy

Heat everything but the brandy together in a saucepan. When it comes to a boil, turn off the heat, whisk it around and add the brandy.

After I cover it with caramel, I dusted it with powdered sugar.

And it was unhealthy & delicious.