Baked French Toast
The year was 2026, and Jessica was to celebrate her 49th birthday. The husband's teeth were sweet the prior day when the idea of a baked French toast was conjured. And the reasoning was sound. Jessica likes French toast, so she's sure to love baked French toast. Yet, with all the sugar in the custard and all the sugar in the topping and all the sugar in the applied maple syrup, official sweet tooth satisfaction occurred after approximately 2-3 bites. This raised the solitary question - how can we make this with less sugar so we avoid the inevitable sugar crash?
Next time this is made, I'd recommend reducing the total sugar (and butter) by 1/3 to 1/2. But if no reduction is made, this makes a better breakfast dessert than a main meal. Delicious, no doubt, but so much sugar.
Followup: As this sat on the counter and then in the fridge for the next couple of days, it made a fantastically delicious snack. You may argue that a bite or two every time I walked past does not constitute a "snack," but I beg to differ.
Ingredients
French Toast
- Butter, for greasing and serving
- 1 loaf crusty sourdough or French bread
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- Warm syrup, for serving
- 1 cup fresh blueberries, for serving
Topping
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- Freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
- checked
- 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
Directions
- For the French toast: Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with butter. Tear the bread into chunks, or cut it into cubes, and evenly distribute it 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). Or you can make it and bake it right away—it's delicious no matter what!
- For the topping: In a separate bowl, use a fork to stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and some nutmeg. Add the butter and use a pastry cutter to mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge.
- When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, bread pudding-like texture or for 1 hour or more for a firmer, crisper texture.
- Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter, drizzle with warm syrup, and sprinkle with blueberries.