| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 13 hr |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Inactive: | 12 hr |
| Cook: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- Butter, for greasing
- 1 loaf crusty sourdough or French bread
- 8 whole eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup whipping (heavy) cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces, plus more for serving
- Warm pancake syrup, for serving
- 1 cup fresh blueberries, for serving
Instructions
- For the French toast: Grease the baking pan with butter. Tear the bread into chunks, or cut into cubes, and evenly distribute in the pan. Crack the eggs in a big bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed (overnight preferably).
- For the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and some nutmeg in a separate bowl. Stir together using a fork. Add the butter and with a pastry cutter, and mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a re-sealable plastic bag in the fridge.
- When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture or for 1 hour or more for a firmer, crisper texture.
- Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with warm pancake syrup and sprinkle with blueberries.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 413 |
| Total Fat | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | 50 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 28 g |
| Protein | 10 g |
| Cholesterol | 157 mg |
| Sodium | 339 mg |
Reviews
Delicious! Halved the recipe since there’s only two of us. My mods: added a handful of golden raisins and one teaspoon of cinnamon, used one cup of half & half instead of the milk and cream called for, since that’s what I had on hand. Let it sit in the fridge for only a couple of hours. (Will do the overnight thing next time, and see how it compares.) Baked for 45 minutes until it was puffy. Hubs says make this again anytime!
I read one of the reviews where they suggested using less sugar. I cut it way back and it was still very sweet. (1/4 cup in the topping and 1/2 cup total in the custard). Make sure you use a deep casserole dish. It plumped up to double in the oven. Would be great with raisins and nuts.
Absent the specific qty / size of the bread loaf I crossed fingers and used a very large 10″ round sweet bread (like Portuguese bread.) While the quantities worked, it was a sugar BOMB. It didn’t need ANY syrup at all. I’d make it again, possible with a savory twist – with herbs, ham and cheese.
Way too sweet. Will reduce sugar in egg mixture to 1/3 cup and topping to 1/4 cup. Like the crunchy part best, so will bake on a buttered sheet pan next time.
So good! Added blueberries before baking and chopped pecans to the topping
The recipe is amazing but the only thing I do differently is that I use an entire loaf of cinnamon raisin bread and I add some additional raisins. I don’t serve it with syrup since it’s already sweet as is. It’s alot for my small family so I portion out the leftovers in containers to be microwaved for a quick breakfast during the week.
I used a medium loaf of Challah that I made in my bread machine. I sliced it and left it uncovered for one day to dry out, before cutting into cubes. You will need about 10-cups. After reading another review I changed the sugar to 1/2 cup white-1/4 cup brown sugar. Whipping cream doesn’t seem to make a big difference so I changed it to 3-cups half n half. I have made this for Xmas brunch the last 3-years. Never any leftovers and this year I’m thinking of making two!
I have made this recipe numerous times EXACTLY as written and it is delicious every time. I have three grown, picky grandchildren who request brunch for their Birthday meal. Each one requests this French Toast Casserole. I would give this recipe ten stars if I could!!
I got rave reviews and recipe requests. Delish!
Was a good father’s day gift and a bounding time with my mom. It was really good!