When planning my holiday menus, I like to serve new dishes, but still not spend the entire day slaving away in the kitchen. This year, I’m preparing a herb crusted rib roast with potato latkes, whole roasted spiced cauliflower, garlic cheesy pull apart bread, honey mustard Brussels sprouts and, for the perfect ending, caramelized torija. Caramelized torija is a dessert that is served at the one and only Degustation in New York. Now, I’ve never actually dined at this restaurant, but I saw a snippet of what they serve on the Food Network and became instantly curious about this dessert. After giving it a try, boy am I glad I did because it is de-licious! Easy to prepare and sure to be a crowd-pleaser, a win-win in my book.
Serves 6
30 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 200 g brioche
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup coconut milk
- peel of 1/2 grapefruit
- peel of 1 lime
- peel of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
Instructions
- Cut brioche in 2-inch blocks. Place in casserole, baking dish or deep container. Sprinkle grapefruit, lime, and lemon peel and pour cream and coconut milk into the dish. Let bread marinate overnight in the refrigerator, flipping the bread once halfway through.
- Heat 1 tbsp butter in a nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Remove bread from marinade, discarding liquids. Sprinkle half the sugar on the brioche and place the bread on the pan. Brown the bread on all sides until golden. Remove from heat.
- Sprinkle remaining sugar on the bread. Use a blow torch to carefully caramelize the brioche. Alternatively, preheat broiler to medium. Place bread in the broiler and cook until sugars have melted and caramelized, about 1-2 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on the bread to make sure it doesn't burn. Serve immediately.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
Caramelized torija is essentially french toast. For both french toast and the torija, you have to soak the bread in a milk mixture and cook on the pan. With the dessert, you go one step further and caramelize the bread either with a blow torch or under the broiler.
If I recall correctly, Degustation uses heavy cream to soak the brioche, but I decided to use a mixture of coconut milk and heavy cream. Do not use more liquid than stated in the recipe. I’ve tested it making one batch with the amount listed and another with enough liquid to completely cover the bread. The batch with more liquid ended up being too soggy and didn’t hold together as well when cooked.
When the recipe lists “peel of grapefruit, lemon, and lime,” it means just that. Use a peeler, not a zester, and peel the fruits. Usually, recipes call for the zest of a lemon, but this time we want the actual peel.
I’ll be honest, I overcrowded my pan just a bit when searing the brioche. Leave space in between to make it easier to flip the bread without squishing the other pieces. Let the bread really brown before flipping.
The optimum tool to use to finish the brioche would be a blow torch but if you don’t own one, use your broiler instead. Just make sure to keep a close eye on the brioche so that the sugar doesn’t burn.
Bite into the caramelized torija while warm and try not to eat the whole batch! The outside is a little crunchy from the caramelized sugar while the inside is oh so creamy. The coconut and citrus flavor is faint but present. These are best served fresh but can still be enjoyed the next day heated up. I can’t wait to show these off to my family with a little side of ice cream!
Looking for someone to come to your house and prepare these dishes for you? It is possible! If you are in Los Angeles and looking for a private chef, please feel free to contact me. For more information, visit Private Kitchen Los Angeles.