This Grilled Cheese Dessert Hybrid Sounds Fancier Than It Is (We Bet You Already Have The Ingredients)

Grilled cheese deserves a lot of love. It's gotten us through our fair share of hangovers, late-night study sessions in college, and cravings for something homey and simple. However, there's no reason that grilled cheese has to be relegated to a struggle meal recipe — especially when you have this two-ingredient upgrade.It's been called the "crème brûlée grilled cheese hack" on TikTok, but you aren't really making the classic French dessert since there is no custard or kitchen torch involved. 

Instead, the exterior of the bread slices are coated in a mixture of melted butter and sugar before being pan-fried. While many grilled cheese additions focus on things you can add to the inside of the sandwich, this one focuses on developing the all-important crunch. The sugar and the fat contribute to the Maillard reaction, essentially caramelizing the outside of the bread, introducing sweet flavors, and giving it a shatteringly crunchy texture that contrasts well with the melty cheese inside. 

Other folks who have tried this hack on social media do use a torch; they add sugar to the sandwich after it's done cooking, then hit it with the torch to caramelize those sugars on contact. This method might be preferable if you don't want to risk burning the sugar in your pan.

The beauty of this hack is that it can be done with many different grilled cheese recipes for an extra bit of indulgence. If your version of the perfect sandwich is melty American sandwiched between two slices of the cheapest white bread you can find, great! You'll love the way the sweetness of the sugar coating elevates the neutral flavor of the cheese. But you could play more on these sweet notes by adding thinly sliced apples or smoked ham to the inside of your sandwich. 

Another way to elevate this sandwich is to either swap the cheese or the bread. Some of the best cheeses for your grilled cheese sandwich include fontina, Gouda, Gruyère, or really anything that melts well; they will all pair well with the subtly sweet crust. You can also use different bread for your base; preferably a milky, slightly sweet bread like challah or milk bread. Enriched breads will play well with the sweetness of the sugar and are hearty enough to support plenty of gooey cheese and any other tasty add-ins you want to invite to the party.