Ultimate Brick Toast
Yup, I made this.
After thinking constantly of the dazzled up brick toast I ate at Cafe LaTTea, I decided that I couldn’t wait until my next trip home to eat it again, so I decided to make my own.
For those unfamiliar with Brick Toast, it’s often served in boba tea cafes. It’s usually a thick slice of toast that is slathered with either a sugar butter mixture, condensed milk or honey. It’s then toasted in the toaster oven before being served. It’s sweet, crunchy and perfect with tea or coffee. You can view my recipe for the original ones here.
The last few years, boba cafes have done various things to evolve the basic brick toast. I’ve seen ones topped high with toppings and syrup.
Then last year, I saw a trend in Taiwan where they took it to a whole new level and present you with an actual brick. It’s a huge brick of toast. The inside is hollowed out and cut into smaller bricks, which are sweetened, toasted and then put back in and layered to resemble a brick wall. The outside bread is toasted as well. It’s then topped with fresh fruit, ice cream and other toppings.
When I was at Cafe LaTTea, we had a chocolate version, but I much prefer something with more fruit. So I topped mine with mangoes, strawberries and matcha green tea ice cream. I also drizzled it with some condensed milk. This was so good!
The main ingredient you probably don’t have laying in your house is the toast. While you can technically you several different kinds of breads, the best ones to use in my opinion are the Japanese thick toast loaves. The American sandwich bread loaves aren’t quite sturdy enoughto make this right.
Normally I buy these fresh baked loaves with thick cut slices at Nijiya market. I’ve also seen them at other Japanese markets like Mistuwa. You can probably find similar breads at Asian bakeries. Rather than get the thick slices loaf this time, I got the unsliced one so that I could cut the size I needed for my brick.
After slicing off the desired length, use a sharp long knife to cut a square into the bread. Make sure you don’t cut all the way through, stopping about 1/2 an inch from the bottom. Then squeeze your hand into one side of the cut square and reach to the bottom and try to pry out the entire square in one piece. Mine came out pretty easily even though I wasn’t able to cut the bottom of the square.
You then take the inside square and cut it into smaller, bite size brick pieces. My large brick was too big to put back into the toaster oven. So I put it on a wire rack of a baking pan and toasted it in the oven. The smaller pieces I toasted in the toaster oven. After all the toasting, I placed the brick pieces back, then I topped it with fresh fruit and ice cream.
Then I made DH come look at my creation, snapped some pictures, and then we ate it all. It was quite filling.
Ultimate Brick Toast
Ingredients
- 1 unsliced loaf of Japanese white bread, or similar equivalent
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- toppings of your choice, fresh fruit, ice cream
- condensed milk, optional
Instructions
- Slice off approximately 1/3 of the bread loaf, or whatever size you desire your brick toast to be.
- Use a sharp, long knife and cut a square into your toast. Leave about 1/2 inch from all ends and bottom. Make sure not to cut all the way through to the bottom. Using your hand, carefully slip into one side until you reach near the bottom and try to pull out the entire inner square in one piece. The bread along the bottom should rip easily even though it hasn't been cut.
- Take inner square and cut into smaller, bite-size brick pieces.
- Whip softened butter with sugar until creamy.
- Slather butter onto the brick pieces and also the inner four sides of the large brick.
- If your brick is too large to fit in a toaster oven, toast for 5-10 minutes in a regular oven. Toast smaller pieces in toaster oven. Take smaller pieces after they are finished toasting and put them back and stacked into the larger brick. Then top with ice cream, fresh fruit, toppings of your choice. Drizzle with condensed milk if desired and serve immediately.
i love it!! I always go to eat it at Cafe Lattea too! anyways, i would like to ask.. where did you get the unsliced loaf? i have been looking for it for days.. but couldn’t find one.
As stated in the post, Nijiya bakery makes and sells unsliced ones. So does Mitsuwa.
The Boba tea place, Thirst Tea has really yummy brick toast. An added plus is their Hokkaido boba tea.
thanks for the rec!
if I put the slathered bread in the pop up toaster it will drip amd mess up the toaster! can this bestove oven toasted ?
you’re not supposed to put in pop up toaster. you’re supposed to use an oven or a toaster oven.
YUM! When you put it in the oven, is iton bake for 350 or on broil high?
I used bake at 350F.
OMG, I’ve been trying to find how to make this ever since I tried up2ucafe in san diego and since I live in murrieta always craving it, I can’t always drive there 🙁 But thanks for the heads up and easy recipe! But when you put it in the oven, do you bake on 350 or do you broil on high?
Thank you for posting this!! Most of my friends, who went to CafeLattea posted a pictures in instagram and facebook. I wanted to tried it so badly ever since they shows me them. I was just screening to page on google and came across this. I got to give it a shot and make this!
I love getting it at Cafe Lattea, but it’s easy to make your own too!
I’ve went to Mitsuwa and Nijiya around San Francisco/San Jose areas, and I still can’t find unsliced toast!:( They’re all sliced… Do they sell them in Chinatown?
I don’t know..I don’t usually shop for the toast in SJ/SF. I buy mine in San Diego and LA. Try some chinese bakeries. I’m pretty sure they sell whole loaves. Or I’m sure you can ask them for a loaf unsliced.
I tried brick toast many years ago. It was so delicious! The condensed milk is a must. I can’t wait to make this at home. Now, I need to go and hunt for a loaf of unsliced good bread.
My favorite is with condensed milk. The only thing is when you toast it, the condensed milk has that burnt look to it which isn’t so pretty.
I have always wanted to try brick toast. The closest one to me is Guppy’s. now I see how easy it is to make from your recipe, I’ll probably just stop by 99 Ranch, get some fresh fruit and condensed milk and make my own plus more for cheaper! Thanks for sharing!
Ooh, yes Guppy’s does a pretty nice version. They were one of the ones I was referring to that sort of fancied it up by adding lots of toppings, though they don’t make the super fancy one that I know of.
maybe you should open up your own place and show them who’s the brick toast boss (;
Haha! Nah, too much pressure
Wow you did a great job!!
Aw, thanks!
Whoa, that looks very filling! I’ve never bought that type of bread before…I’ll have to give it a shot next time I’m up near Nijiya or Mitsuwa. This dessert is an architectural wonder and so colorful and cute too!
Hehe, this was fun! I’m going to try a few more topping variations.
That looks delicious! IT’S GINORMOUS lol
it’s definitely meant to be shared! maybe 3 or 4 people.
Just came across your blog and I love it! This brick toast sounds incredible, I am not sure it is something you can easily find where I am, but I will sure have to give it a try myself!
Try to look for white toast at any Asian bakery near you. They tend to have a more sturdier denser toast than the American sandwich bread, which is more flimsy. The one I use has a very firm exterior so it holds the brick shape. You can also maybe try a brioche bread. Even a simple brick toast tastes incredible though (one single thick slice, slathered with sweet butter and toasted)
I’ve never heard of Brick Toast before, but it sounds like an interesting dessert! You definitely sold me on it =)
It’s really good. The thick toast tastes so good with the sweetened butter which gets caramelized when it’s heated and toasted. It’s crunchy, sweet, soft. So so good!