French Toast Casserole for #BrunchWeek

Welcome to #BrunchWeek 2020 hosted by Love and Confections and A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures! This is our 8th year of #BrunchWeek and while it is a little different this year, 22 bloggers are excited to share all our favorite Brunch recipes. We have a huge variety including French toast, danish, waffles, pancakes, hash, fruit salad, cocktails, mocktails, vegan, keto, and plenty of desserts! We hope you enjoy all our Brunch recipes!

So let me introduce you to this Casserole by saying hello gorgeous! This was a wonderful special breakfast treat we enjoyed a little while ago - it was the perfect way to use up some leftover baked sweet bread (my Armenian Easter Loaf) and serve up something nice for everyone to be able to enjoy together.

My sister isn't usually a huge fan of nuts in baked goods - but this was "minimal" enough that it didn't bother her - plus I chopped them up pretty small! I thought they added some great texture to the otherwise soft, custardy texture of the casserole.

The flavors are just wonderful - lightly spiced and a touch of maple syrup is all you need. However you like your french toast - that's the toppings I would suggest adding. Some chopped fresh fruit would be great, or a touch of powdered sugar, but it really doesn't need much!

Come see all of our Tuesday #BrunchWeek offerings!

Beverage Recipes

• Avocado Dalgona Coffee by Simply Healthyish Recipes
• Peach Smoothie by The Redhead Baker

Bread, Grains, and Cereal Recipes

• French Toast Casserole by Making Miracles

Egg Recipes

• Bacon, Egg & Cheese Quiche by The Nifty Foodie
• Steak and Potato Hash by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

Fruit and Veggie Recipes

• Caramelized Grapefruit with candied mint by Happily Curated Chaos

Meat, Poultry, and Fish Recipes

• Southern Brunch Board by Love & Confections

Dessert Recipes

• Keto Lemon Cake by Keto Basic AF
• Raspberry Macarons Recipe by April Golightly

French Toast Casserole

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 (1-pound) loaf leftover bread (I used my Armenian Easter Loaf)

Custard
8 large eggs
3 cups half-and-half (or 1 1/2 cups each whole milk and heavy cream)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 TBS vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Topping
2 ounces chopped nuts (about 1/2 cup), such as pecans or walnuts
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cold

Serving
Warm maple syrup or powdered sugar

Directions

1. Dice the bread up into even 1" cubes and spread in the bottom of a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. 
2. Prepare the custard in a medium size bowl by whisking all custard ingredients together until smooth and well combined. Pour this mixture over the bread and allow to soak on the counter for about 1-hour. (Only do the overnight soak if you're using a heartier bread such as sourdough, for challah or other lighter sweet breads 1 hour is perfect!)
3. Prepare the topping ingredients when you're about ready to bake, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the nuts with the flour brown sugar, nutmeg and salt. Use a pastry cutter or fork and blend in the chilled butter until mixture is well combined and resembles coarse crumbs.
5. When you are ready to bake, sprinkle the topping mixture over the prepared casserole and bake in the preheated oven, uncovered, for 45 to 50 minutes, until golden brown along the top and set in the middle.
6. Note: If you are pulling the casserole out of the refrigerator, allow the casserole to sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes before baking so it comes to room temperature first.
7. Allow the baked casserole to cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Serving suggestion: sprinkle with powdered sugar or add a drizzle of maple syrup. Fresh berries are great as well!

Recipe adapted from The Kitchn

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