This is a glorious dish to make for brunch guests: You soak the bread in eggs overnight, so the next morning all you have to do is top the casserole with streusel and bake. The overnight soak makes the finished French toast almost like a custardy souffle.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 8 hr 50 min |
| Prep: | 5 min |
| Inactive: | 8 hr |
| Cook: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, for the casserole dish
- 1 loaf Italian-style bread, cut into 18 half-inch-thick slices (about 1 pound)
- 6 large eggs
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Kosher salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Kosher salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- For the casserole: Generously butter a 3-quart casserole dish. Arrange the bread slices over the bottom of the dish in three rows of 6 slices, shingling slightly.
- Whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl until combined and smooth. Whisk in the milk and heavy cream. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread slices, making sure that all slices have been coated. Cover the dish and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 12.
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F.
- For the crumble: Toss the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a medium bowl. Add the butter and work it in with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly with pea-sized bits of butter. Mix in the walnuts.
- To assemble: Give the bread slices in the casserole dish a gentle push into the custard. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the top.
- Bake the casserole until the top is puffed and browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes (it will still be a little wiggly but will continue to cook a bit out of the oven); check halfway through the baking time and tent with foil if the topping is browning too quickly. Serve hot.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 660 |
| Total Fat | 41 g |
| Saturated Fat | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 61 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 36 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Cholesterol | 221 mg |
| Sodium | 561 mg |
Reviews
I make this every year for Christmas breakfast. We use challah bread from the bakery and I cube it instead of slices. I also use pecans instead of walnuts and melt the butter instead of cubing for the crumble topping. It comes out amazing each time, there’s never any leftover.
;Been doing this recipe since 2017 when someone asked me to try it for Easter Sunday Brunch. Have been making it every year since. Delicious
This was delicious!! I prepared it one night and ended up having unexpected late-morning pop-in guests the next day! Made me look like a baking rock star! Everyone loved it! I’ll definitely make it again (and again)!
Delicious!
Yummy
I made this for Mother’s Day and it was a huge hit with everyone. Even had some of the men ask for the recipe. I doubled the amount for the brown sugar walnut topping. It is going into our family cookbook! Making it again this weekend. I used a softer crust Italian type bread. It was easy to double for 16 people.
My family loves this recipe. I made it for Three Kings Day, a celebration in Puerto Rico and we were astonished with it. It is a pudding like french toast. Its like having dessert in breakfast. Really love it.