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Brunching today with this Baked Cinnamon Crème Brûlée French Toast with Raspberry Preserves.
If there was ever a decadent french toast, this has got to be it. It’s pretty much one of the best holiday breakfast/brunch recipes you can find, and it’s delicious.
My current state of mind, cooking wise, is prep all things ahead and bake later. This year I’ve made it a goal of mine to be more organized come Christmas Eve (I think I say this every single year though). Therefore, I’m on the hunt for recipes that can be prepared in advance. It seems every Christmas I’m frantically running around cooking, mixing up cocktails, and wrapping gifts. It’s basically full on chaos. I don’t hate it one bit, but there’s definitely room for some organization and make ahead recipes.
Anyone else with me?
K, cool. Let me tell you about this french toast.
Here’s the quick story. Both my mom and oldest brother, Creighton love french toast. Every single Christmas Creighton will walk himself down to my house and request his annual French Toast breakfast, complete with bacon and a giant glass of milk (because apparently he’s still twelve years old). This breakfast doesn’t happen on Christmas morning since we always, always have Mom’s Monkey Bread, but more often it happens on Christmas Eve morning.
To me, Christmas Eve is my favorite day and actually trumps Christmas Day. I love the excitement in the air, it’s the best. Because Christmas Eve is so special to me, I always cave in and make the boys whatever they request. It’s my sisterly duty, plus I’m just a sucker. Whenever anyone asks me to make something, 99% of the time I’ll do it…yep, people pleaser right here.
Anyway, the point is, I’ve realized french toast on Christmas Eve seems to have become tradition. This year I’m being extra smart and prepping this french toast bake the day before, thus leaving me free to do things like wrap gifts, cook Christmas Eve dinner, and maybe even chill for a second? Maybe…
Since it’s Christmas, you know I had to come up with a rather decadent French Toast.
Enter this Baked Cinnamon Crème Brûlée French Toast. Oh my gosh, it’s heaven. No joke, it’s pretty much like eating dessert for breakfast, but hey, it’s the holidays, where anything goes so it’s cool.
So what is Crème Brûlée French Toast? It’s toast that’s eggy, custard infused…with plenty of cinnamon and orange liquor, has a crunchy sugar bottom, and is topped with whipped cream and raspberry preserves. Pretty sure it just doesn’t get better than this.
I served this up for Asher and I during our “Christmas Day” this past Sunday and the girl went crazy for it. Of course she doubled up on the whipped cream and skipped out on the raspberry preserves, but the little girl loved this baked French Toast and said that the just so slightly crunchy bottom was the very best part.
I agreed.
The recipe is pretty simple. It’s a mix of maple, brown sugar, and butter, spread evenly in the bottom of a baking dish. This is the “Crème Brûlée” part of the recipe. The sugars then caramelize as the french toast bakes up in the oven and create a slightly crunchy crust over the bottom of the french toast. It’s literally just incredible, think Crème Brûlée topping on eggy french toast. SO GOOD.
The custard is a simple mix of eggs, milk, cinnamon, orange liquor, and vanilla. I highly recommend using the orange liquor as it adds that touch of special holiday flavor. And truthfully, you really should have a bottle of orange liquor on hand at all times, especially during the holidays…so you can make these Cranberry Orange Margaritas.
Once the french toast has been assembled, simply place it in the fridge for up to overnight. This is the perfect breakfast for early mornings when you don’t have time to cook. Simply remove from the fridge and bake.
Done.
To add a pop of festive color, I like to serve this with some raspberries preserves, but, going to be honest here, it’s pretty delicious just straight out of the oven with zero toppings. Maple and powdered sugar are really not even needed here, as the french toast is pretty sweet on its own, but of course do as you please and top as desired.
The more the merrier, right?
Yup, going with that!
Baked Cinnamon Crème Brûlée French Toast with Raspberry Preserves
Servings: 8 servings
Calories Per Serving: 536 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 8 large eggs beaten
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier (orange liqueur)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 loaf challah bread, sliced into thick slices
- 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 jar (10 ounces) raspberry preserves
- whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Grease a 9x13 inch-baking dish with butter. 2. In a small bowl, mix together the maple, brown sugar, and butter. Spread the mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, Grand Marnier, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Submerge each piece of bread into the egg mixture, allowing the bread to sit at least a minute and soak up the eggs. Arrange the bread in the prepared baking dish. Pour the remaining egg mixture over the bread slices.4. Cover and place in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the french toast. Transfer to the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the French toast is golden and crisp. If the tops of the bread begin to brown too quickly, loosely cover the French toast with foil.5. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the raspberry preserves and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes until warm.6. Serve the french toast warm, topped with whipped cream, if desired, and preserves. Enjoy!
The perfect plate of french toast.
Thus recipe is out of this world. It’s duper easy assembly and easy baking while your doing other things or attending to your guests. I do recommend making it the day before as the bread comes out softer and a fluffier texture vs. assembly and immediately baking. The key is using challah bs other breads! I’ve also tried adding golden raisins for a spin on this and it was delicious too. If you are not an avid cook, this is a fool proof recipe that turns out perfect every time!
Thank you so much Michelle! So glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
Hey! If someone didn’t find this receipt until an hour before dinner, and wanted to omit the extra hour in the fridge, would it be that big of deal? Asking for a friend. Hahaha.
Haha! No worries! Yup, you can omit an extra hour in the fridge. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
OH MY SWEET LORD, Tieghan.
We made this for New Year’s Day brunch and it was phenomenal.
So easy to make the night before. Everyone from my picky grandma to picky 4 year old niece was a fan.
A new tradition for sure! Happy 2019!
Thank you so much Madeleine! I am so glad you loved this recipe!!
This sounds delicious. I am hosting my adult son’s childhood friends and their spouses this weekend. Can I double the recipe?
If so, what size dish would you use and how long would you bake it? Thanks.
Hi Nancy! You can double the recipe, but I recommend splitting the french toast between 2 (9×13 inch) baking dishes. This will give you a better result and evenly cooked french toast. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thanks! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan,
I always enjoy your recipes! Everything is so good. I’m planning to try one of your French Toast recipes for Easter. I noticed you have this baked French Toast or regular French Toast that you book on the griddle. What is the difference between baking in the oven or cooking on the griddle? Is texture different? I like fluffy inside and crispy outside. Any recommendation?
HI! So this recipe is crispy on top and soft inside. It’s sweet and delicious. The recipe in the book is crunchy on the outside and soft in the center. It’s filled with peanut butter, so a little different, but it is also delicious. Either recipe is great! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
OH MY GOSH. thank you for this recipe! we had some friends over for brunch recently, i cook for them often and they requested french toast. standing at the stove sounded tedious so the day of i searched the internet for french toast i could bake but i wasn’t really digging any of the recipes. i love anything custard-y and with raspberry and luckily i had all the ingredients at home, so i gave it a go and it was sooooo freaking good. all my friends said its the best french toast they’ve ever had! we’re all huge fans of your blog now, just wanted to share 🙂
Hi Elise! I am so happy that these turned out amazing for you and your guests! Thank you!
BF expects this every Sunday morning now. I make it with your brioche. I do the cinnamon swirl but not the strudel. Its our Sunday brunch we look forward to every weekend.
Haha that is amazing! I am so glad you both love this recipe, Ginger! Thank you!
I made this Christmas morning for my family and it was a hit! My dad is a pretty healthy eater so I had to sell him on how it was filled with protein filled eggs and cinnamon, but he gobbled it right up along with my brother, sister, and mom!
Although this dish was delish, and i love the holidays, I’m thrilled it’s healthy January on your blog! I don’t know about you, but after about a month of indulging like crazy on sugar and carbs, I’m ready for some yummy veggie and superfood recipes.
One thing I really miss… your 9 favorite things posts! And even more… how you used to give a “preview” of the upcoming week’s recipes!! Can we get those back?
Thanks for all the inspiration and fantastic posts!
Hey Libby! I am so happy you and your family enjoyed this recipe so much! Don’t worry, the Nine Favorite Things posts will be back soon! Thank you!!
This was a great hit at my house Christmas morning. It went FAST, no leftovers! Thank you, really love your recipes and I wish you a Happy New Year.
That is so great to hear! Thank you Robin! I hope your Christmas was amazing and Happy New Year!
This overnight french toast was absolutely perfect for Christmas morning! I skimped a little on the brown sugar though because my family is sweet enough! I used orange juice instead of the Grand Marnier cuz that’s what I had. So easy—-so delicious!
I am so happy you enjoyed these Debra! Thank you!
Made this for this morning (Christmas Day 2017) for a bunch of picky eaters. I’m the only one crazed for french toast and this hands down was the best French Toast I’ve ever had!!!! Even Mom the pickiest of the eaters who doesn’t like french toast asked for seconds!!! Used the recipe exactly as is except for Cherry Preserves/Jam/Spread instead of the Raspberry. Will definitely make it again next year!!!
That is AMAZING! So glad everyone enjoyed this and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas Lina! Thank you!
Just made this recipe and followed it to the T, but the bottom did not come out crispy. What went wrong?
HI! I am so sorry for the trouble. How long did you bake? it might just be that you need to bake the french toast a little longer for a crispier bottom. If the top is browning, just cover with foil. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s 🙂
I really want to make this for Christmas this year, but can’t find challah bread. Will it work to substitute French bread?
French bread will be great! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s ? 🙂
I seriously cannot wait to try this! Amazing flavors.
Thank you Jennifer!
If i don´t have maple syrup (it’s hard to find in Portugal) and the alchool you use there what can i substitute it with?
In Portugal we have a tradicional dessert, thats very similar to this, and sometimes we use Porto Wine or Port Wine (vinho do porto), maybe i could use that?
Thanks
You can swap the alcohol with orange juice or omit it. Use an equal amount of brown sugar in place of the maple. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s ? 🙂