Overnight French Toast Casserole with Cinnamon Bread
Easy overnight baked french toast with cinnamon bread soaked in vanilla custard, topped with pecans and a buttery cinnamon crumble. Prep it the night before and bake in the morning.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf cinnamon bread (12 regular sized slices)
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter*
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan well. Lay out bread slices in two rows, overlapping. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, sugars, and vanilla until well combined. Pour over bread. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the topping but whisking together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add diced or grated butter (see * note for clarity) and toss in the flour mixture. Roll the butter and flour through your fingers to form sand-like consistency, some larger pieces are fine.
- Sprinkle the pecans over the custard soaked bread. Sprinkle the topping evenly on top, it seems like a lot, but use it all. Bake for 45 minutes for a custard-like texture or 60 minutes for a crisper texture. Let cool slightly, serve with maple syrup or powdered sugar, or both!
Notes
* The butter needs to be super cold. You can either small dice it or do what I do, and grate it right into the bowl with the flour mixture.