Overnight French Toast Bake
This overnight French toast bake recipe is perfect for lazy brunches or busy weekends. Topped with fresh berries, it’s sweet, delicious, and filling.
By Yankee Magazine|May 16 2022|
Overnight French Toast Bake
Photo Credit: Amy TraversoThere are so many things to love about this recipe. It’s delicious, it can feed a crowd, it’s easy, and it’s flavored with a blend of nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla, and, if you like, bourbon. It’s warm and cozy but more aromatic than most. But wait, you may say, baked French toast with no cinnamon? That’s in the bread.
It’s worth noting here that while this recipe asks you to slice your bread into 1-inch slabs, most of the cinnamon bread you’ll find in the supermarket comes presliced. No worries. Just grab two slices of bread and treat them as a single, thicker slice. You need only butter one side of the stack.
Really, the only challenge to this recipe is remembering to assemble the dish before going to bed. But the prep time is fast enough that it won’t keep you up late. And in the morning, you have a crowd-pleasing hot breakfast in just under an hour.
Yield:
8 to 10 servings
Total Time:
1 hour, 45 minutes, plus at least 6 hours chilling time minutesHands-on Time:
30 minutes minutes
Ingredients
1 loaf cinnamon bread or cinnamon-raisin bread (1 1/2 to 2 pounds), preferably unsliced
4 tablespoons softened butter, softened
12 large eggs
3 cups whole or 2 percent milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons bourbon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Maple syrup
Instructions
Butter bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cut loaf into 1-inch slices. Butter one side of each slice, cut slices once on the diagonal, and arrange slices buttered side up, with pieces slightly overlapping (see photo).
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, bourbon (if using), salt, nutmeg, and cardamom. Pour custard over bread, making sure to saturate every slice. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator at least 6 hours and up to overnight.
Remove the casserole from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature while you preheat the oven to 350°. Bake, uncovered, until the custard sets and puffs up and the toast is lightly browned, 50 to 60 minutes. If the toast is getting too dark, cover the pan loosely with foil. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with maple syrup.
In fact I have just finished preparing it to bring to a gathering of friends tomorrow morning!
A friend of ours made this many years ago,but added blueberries. Unbelievably good!
We did not enjoy this recipe. I let it bake until the bread puffed and the liquid set but the bread part underneath was mush. Maybe with some adjustments this could be a better recipe.
Be sure that you are using 2 lbs of bread to absorb the custard mix, or reduce the amount of milk by a half cup.
This recipe appeared in YANKEE just in time for me to make it for a brunch I was attending last spring. The 8 women in attendance LOVED it and asked for the recipe. Since then I have made it at least 3 more times, and it has become a “must” whenever the kids and grandkids visit! TIP: I have added berries, thinly sliced apples, or coarsely chopped peaches between the bread slices before pouring on the custard. I sometimes also use coriander instead of cardamom. And DO always use maple syrup
Forgot to mention in my review that I omit the sugar (the bread has enough for my taste) and substitute half to all vanilla soy milk for the regular milk.
I made this for yesterday’s Easter brunch. I used 2 1/2 cups milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream. I assembled a little differently than as shown. It came out perfect and everyone loved it. It was ready after 45 minutes. Will make again. This was my first time making it.
Love this recipe, am making it for Christmas day breakfast. Great recipes.
Je vais préparer la recette et le donner à ma belle-fille pour le lendemain de Noel
pour leur déjeuner La visite est le 24 pour le souper
They all look so good, am going to try the French Toast
We have a gathering of friends that meet in Duxbury every summer-all have a Bates College connection. One Saturday night, one of them made this. Stole it and it has been Christmas morning breakfast since then…it is so
good!!
Prepped this on Thanksgiving eve to make the morning just a little easier. The next morning it really made a beautiful presentation on the table. It was so delicious that we just kept going back for more!! This dish is a keeper and will be on our family table for years to come .
Made this with brioche, skipped the cardamom, add topped with wild blueberries (frozen). Also used light cream rather than milk because it’s the holidays. Delicious!
I find those trying to make this ‘healthier’ should just forget about it and make it for the deliciousness that it is intended. Either SPLURGE on this one dish or not make it at all. Go BIG or go home, as they say. Make up for healthy on another recipe.