French Toast Bake with Cinnamon Streusel
Ingredients
French Toast:
- 10 to 12 thick slices French bread, cinnamon bread, brioche bread or Texas Toast (see note)
- 5 large eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ to ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch table salt
Cinnamon Streusel:
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- Fresh berries, powdered sugar, syrup, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes (more or less; it doesn't have to be exact). You'll want about 8 to 9 cups of lightly packed bread cubes. Scatter the bread cubes in the prepared pan. They won't necessarily be in a single layer, but they should be evenly distributed.
- Blend or whisk together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread.
- Cover the dish and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours.
- For the streusel, in a small bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until the butter and dry ingredients are evenly mixed and small clumps form. Refrigerate until ready to bake the French toast.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sprinkle the streusel evenly across the top of the French toast. Bake, uncovered, for 55 to 60 minutes (more or less, depending on how "well done" you want the French toast). If the topping starts to brown too quickly while baking, place foil loosely across the top of the pan and continue baking until the French toast is done to your liking.
- Serve warm with fresh berries, a sprinkle of powdered sugar and/or a drizzle of syrup.
Notes
Bread: you'll need about one medium-size bread loaf (18 to 20 ounces) for this recipe. If the bread has a thick, hard crust, trim it away before cutting into cubes.