Description
Creamy french toast casserole delights breakfast enthusiasts with its rich, custardy layers. Maple syrup and cinnamon elevate this comforting dish that will satisfy weekend morning cravings.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 loaf sourdough bread (or brioche, challah, or French bread)
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups (480 ml/16 fl oz) milk
- ½ cup (120 ml/4 fl oz) heavy cream
- ¾ cup (150 g/5.3 oz) sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (60 g/2.1 oz) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g/3.5 oz) packed light brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (113 g/4 oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Instructions
- Bread Preparation: Cube stale bread into uniform pieces and distribute evenly across a thoroughly greased rectangular baking dish.
- Custard Creation: Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, and sugar into a smooth, homogeneous liquid mixture, ensuring complete blending of all components.
- Infusion Process: Pour custard over bread cubes, gently pressing to guarantee thorough and consistent absorption of the liquid base.
- Flavor Development: Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4-8 hours, allowing bread to completely soak and flavors to harmonize.
- Crumble Composition: Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl, then integrate cold butter using fingertips or pastry cutter until achieving a crumbly, textured consistency.
- Oven Preparation: Position oven rack to center and preheat to 350°F, creating an optimal baking environment for the casserole.
- Final Assembly: Remove casserole from refrigerator, sprinkle crumble topping generously and evenly across the surface, ensuring complete coverage.
- Baking Transformation: Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes until the top turns golden brown and the interior becomes puffy and set.
- Serving Presentation: Allow casserole to rest for 10-15 minutes after removing from oven, enabling flavors to settle and structure to stabilize before serving.
Notes
- Bread Selection Matters: Choose day-old or slightly stale bread like brioche, challah, or French bread for optimal texture and absorption.
- Overnight Marination Magic: Refrigerating the casserole for minimum 4 hours allows bread to fully soak up custard, creating a rich, custardy interior.
- Butter Temperature Technique: Use cold butter when making crumble topping to achieve a perfect crumbly, crisp texture that doesn’t melt too quickly.
- Golden Brown Perfection: Watch casserole closely during final 15 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning while ensuring a crispy, caramelized top.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45-60 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 475
- Sugar: 23 g
- Sodium: 230 mg
- Fat: 27 g
- Saturated Fat: 17 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 43 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 185 mg