I tried Joanna Gaines' restaurant-worthy, cereal-coated French toast and it's perfect for family brunch

• Season two of "Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines" premiered on April 9.
• In the first episode, she showed viewers how to make her favorite brunch spread.
• I made her French toast recipe at home and it was a fun, delicious twist on the classic.

Joanna Gaines let home cooks in on a not-so-secret recipe she serves at Magnolia Table: French toast crunch.

The TV personality known for her comfort food prowess walked viewers through the dish in the season two premiere of "Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines," which airs every Friday on Discovery Plus' Magnolia Network.

Gaines says she has a sweet tooth when it comes to breakfast and that this was her addition to the menu. She said in the episode that she never liked the soggy texture of French toast, so she thought up a way to change that, on the outside at least.

"One time I was at the restaurant and I thought, 'Hey, what if we add a little crunch to the French toast?' And now," she said, "I'm a French toast girl."

I tried making the cereal-coated French toast myself and, while it was definitely designed for someone with a sweet tooth, I was able to both appreciate and enjoy it, in moderation.

First, I had to toast the cereal and make caramel

I followed Gaines' lead and spread Corn Flakes in a thin layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put it in the oven. The celebrity cook said to toast for six to eight minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. My oven was stuck at 350 degrees, so I went with that and my flakes started to turn brown in six minutes — just keep an eye on them as everyone's ovens are different.

The real challenge here was making homemade caramel, which I had never done before.

I imitated Gaines' process to a T. First, measuring out the sugar, then the cream of tartar — which isn't actually a cream at all, it looks more like baking powder — then I scooped water into the pot with a tablespoon just as she did.

Gaines said to let the mixture boil for five minutes, stirring occasionally, and it would turn amber in color. It didn't.

I stirred and waited and stirred again for another two minutes — still nothing. I was starting to think I did something wrong. Another four minutes later, I saw that the layer closest to the bottom of the pot started to turn brown. Finally, at the 17-minute mark, I got something that resembled Gaines' pot full of cooked sugar.

Taking it off the heat, I stirred in butter, salt, and heavy cream, which thickened the sticky goo and gave it a sheen.

Combining the cereal and caramel was a delicious step of this process

Once the caramel cooled, I carefully loaded all of my toasted Corn Flakes into a bowl, drizzled the caramel on top, and used a spatula to mix gently. Then I put the mixture back onto my lined baking sheet and let it set for around 30 minutes.

I, like Gaines, couldn't help but sneak a taste every couple of minutes, though. This alone would have been a home run recipe. It was crunchy and sticky, sweet and salty. I even gifted some of the extra to friends who put it on top of ice cream.

By the time I realized I added too much caramel, it was too late

Gaines' next step is to load the crunch into a bag and smash it with a rolling pin — or, in my case, a bottle of wine.

In the episode, I was able to see that her crushed cereal had a dust-like texture perfect for coating. Mine, though, remained sticky and didn't even settle like crumbs at the bottom of the bag. I realized that meant my caramel to cereal ratio was off and I needed more Corn Flakes.

I had already used up all of my caramel though, so it was too far gone for me to fix. But I worked with what I had and it still turned out great.

Dredging is where you can decide how moist you want your toast to be

Gaines dubbed what I would typically call an egg wash as a custard. She combined heavy cream, vanilla extract, and an egg, so I did the same.

I cut 1-inch slices of brioche and dipped them in the custard before pressing them into the cereal crumbles. I found that the longer I let the slices soak, the more wet and heavy the finished piece turned out.

If you like your French toast on the dry side, I would recommend just dipping each slice quickly to coat the surface rather than letting it sit and act like a sponge.

After pressing the crumbles into the bread, I let it fry on a pan with melted butter until each side was close to, but not quite, burnt.

When I first bit into my test piece, I thought it was still raw on the inside. But then I realized it was actually just the rich, custardy texture coming through. It was delightful.

Ultimately, I think this is a delicious, once-in-a-while brunch

I don't share the same sweet tooth as Gaines, but I can still appreciate the bursting flavor profile and texture combination that comes from this breakfast item.

It's crunchy, custardy, sweet, and salty. If I visited Magnolia Table and saw this on the menu, I would likely order it as something to share with the whole table.

Eating it, I did feel like I immediately had to go brush my teeth to get the sugar off, but I didn't mind at all.

Following Gaines' lead again, I made homemade whipped cream, dusted the top with powdered sugar, and drizzled some maple syrup on top — though, I used a ginger-flavored syrup I found at my local farmer's market and the flavor gave this dish an even bigger boost.

This dish definitely took a lot of work, but I think it's worth it for special occasions or a big family meal.

Plus, now I can say I've made caramel from scratch, which I think is pretty cool.