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This Overnight Creme Brûlée French Toast Casserole tastes just like the traditional French dessert! It’s light and delicate with notes of vanilla and subtle orange liqueur. This elegant and special breakfast is perfect for the holidays!
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
As promised, here’s another special breakfast or brunch recipe that is truly perfect for the holidays! This Overnight Creme Brûlée French Toast Casserole is by far one of our favorite French Toast Casseroles ever made, and I am so excited to share it with you all today.
If you’re looking for an amazing, no fuss and beautiful breakfast that will impress everyone- than this is the breakfast recipe for you! This French toast casserole sits overnight in a delicious vanilla custard, then baked in the morning. Once baked, the sugar on top gets caramelized, creating that unforgettable Creme Brûlée flavor we all know and love.
Creme Brûlée is one of my all time favorite desserts. It’s so fun to make for special occasions, but it can a little time consuming; so this French Toast Casserole is perfect when you want all the traditional flavors of the classic dessert with way less effort. And the best part? It’s seriously so easy! Like, really easy. Don’t let the words Creme Brûlée daunt you.
As the name suggests, this casserole sits overnight soaking up all that delicious custard- so keep that in mind if you’re going to make this wonderful casserole. It only takes about 10 minutes of prep the night before, and in the morning it’s ready to bake! There’s nothing quite like waking up in the morning to a delicious breakfast already prepared and ready to bake. Another reason this casserole is perfect for Christmas morning!
What you will need for Overnight Creme Brûlée French Toast Casserole:
- a large 9×13 casserole dish
- salted butter
- dark brown sugar
- French bread, or other artisan white bread. (brioche is also wonderful!)
- eggs
- half and half
- pure vanilla extract
- pure maple syrup
- grand marnier orange liqueur
- salt
- whipped cream to top (optional)
- fresh berries to top (optional)
How to make Overnight Creme Brûlée French Toast Casserole:
Start by making the vanilla custard.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer (or by hand with a hand held mixer), beat the eggs, half and half, vanilla, Grand Marnier and salt over medium speed for 3 minutes, until full combined and creamy.
After you make the custard- melt the salted butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.
When the brown sugar butter mixture is all melted and begins to bubble, carefully pour the mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 casserole pan. Spread the sugar evenly with a spatula. Slice the French bread into 1 inch slices, and then assemble the pieces over the top of the brown sugar mixture. Depending on the size of the French loaf you use, you may have extra slices of bread. Next, pour all that delicious custard over the bread, cover with plastic wrap and pop in the refrigerator to sit overnight until you’re ready to bake in the morning.
Do I need to add orange liquor? The orange liqueur is optional, but it does add a lovely undertone. If you don’t have Grand Marnier on hand, you can substitute with one teaspoon of orange extract, or even a splash of fresh orange juice! The orange flavoring adds a subtle, delicate flavor that is not overpowering, but feel free to leave it out if you prefer.
Do I really need to add a whole tablespoon of vanilla? Yes! Don’t skimp on the vanilla here. The vanilla extract is what really makes this French toast casserole taste like Creme Brûlée. As always, pure vanilla extract is recommended; I am not a fan of imitation vanilla. The additional cost is so worth it for the real stuff- and your baked goods will thank you!
Can I substitute with a different type of bread? Yes! I have used brioche, which is also amazing. Feel free to use any white, rustic, artisan loaf you prefer. Whichever bread you do choose to use, just make sure it’s good quality and on the thicker side so it can soak up all that vanilla custard.
Does this casserole have to sit overnight? Honestly, I have never tried to make this the day of. For the sake of taste and texture, I would highly recommend not skipping the overnight step. While it sits overnight, all the delicious custard gets absorbed into the bread. The end result is an amazingly light, eggy, bread pudding like texture. If you do try this recipe the same day, I would decrease the amount of half and half to about one cup, and decrease the eggs by about two. This should help ensure that the casserole doesn’t become too soggy. Then allow it to soak in the refrigerator for at least one hour before baking.
Now for the magical step that transforms this French toast casserole into a Creme Brûlée French toast casserole…
After the casserole has finished baking (about 40 minutes), you’re then going to carefully take the casserole dish out of the oven and flip over each individual bread slice. Remember all that delicious brown sugar butter at the bottom? That’s now going to be the caramelized sugar topping!
Turn your oven temperature up to broil and pop the casserole dish back in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Watch very carefully so that it doesn’t get too dark! You want a nice medium browning here, just don’t over do it. After the sugar caramelizes and bubbles, you now have that iconic caramelized sugar topping which is what makes Creme Brûlée so special! Creme Brûlée literally translates to burnt cream and its truly perfect! Its not Creme Brûlée without that burnt sugar topping.
Goodness…. The French sure know how to make delicious food!
You can top this French toast casserole with whatever you fancy! Personally, I don’t even use maple syrup here because it’s just so perfect as is with some fresh berries. But feel free to top it with pure maple syrup, homemade whipped cream, jam, powdered sugar, fresh berries or whatever you prefer! I’m sure you can’t go wrong here.
And that’s it! So easy, right?!
We hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you give this Overnight Creme Brûlée French Toast Casserole a try, please be sure to leave a comment and/or rating below! I truly love hearing from you! And if you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a delicious recipe! We have a lot of yummy content coming your way- you definitely wont want to miss it!
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I hope you all have any amazing, cozy week and you feel inspired to try something new this Christmas season!
More Holiday Recipes to try this week:
- Soft Batch Peppermint Twist Sugar Cookies
- Gingerbread Waffles
- Overnight Orange Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe
Overnight Creme Brûlée French Toast Casserole
Equipment
- large 9×13 casserole dish
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 loaf French bread, or other artisan white bread, cut into 1 inch slices
- 6 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups half and half
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon grand marnier orange liqueur
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- The night before: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar until bubbly and smooth, about 4 minutes. Pour the melted butter mixture at the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish and spread evenly with a spatula.
- In a large bowl whisk the eggs for 1 minute. Next add the half and half, vanilla, maple syrup, Grand Marnier (if using), and salt. Whisk until combined. Set aside.
- Slice the bread into 1 inch slices. Arrange the slices in the casserole dish in a single layer over the brown sugar mixture, as many slices as you can fit. Depending on the size of the loaf you use, you may have leftover slices. Pour the custard mixture over the top of the bread slices. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
- In the morning: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes until lightly golden. Carefully remove the casserole dish from the oven, and flip each individual slice over with a spatula. Turn the oven onto broil, and broil on high until the sugar begins to brown and caramelize, about 2 minutes. Watch very carefully so that it doesn't burn! Top with fresh berries, cream, or maple syrup. Enjoy!
Can you use a kitchen torch to broil the tops after baking?
Yes, a kitchen torch would work great after baking! 😄 I hope you love the recipe!!
Wow! This is the BEST french toast I have ever had! It’s packed with flavor. So wonderful to have it all ready the night before. Pop it in the oven and it comes out perfect. I did love the fresh whipped cream on top. So yummy!!
Hmm is anyone else having problems with the pictures on this
blog loading? I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my
end or if it’s the blog. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Feel free to surf to my web site; perumahan di serpong (Jeanette)
I’m so sorry to hear you’re having trouble with the pictures loading, Jeanette! It appears to be working well on my end. Maybe try rebooting your computer? I will see if there is anything I can do further to increase page speed. I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Does the bread need to be stale (day old) or can I use fresh french bread and still soak overnight?
Hi, Alicia! Yes, that would totally work! I have done that when I have been short on time. The bread isn’t quite as firm, but it’s still delicious! I hope you love the recipe! 🙂 xKaylen
this was SO good! we love overnight French Toast but Kaylen’s description was very accurate in that it tastes like, and has the consistency of, creme brûlée!! I used brioche bread that was was fresh so maybe that’s why it was so moist inside,,like a custardy creme brulee! Again SO good and will definitely be one of our go to’s!
This makes me so happy to hear, Joni!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂