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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
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!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
The perfect plate of french toast.
!!baked creme brulee French toast
Yes!! xTieghan
Hi! I made this and it was delicious but the center of the bread was soggy. The top was crispy. I baked it for 50 minutes and made it up the night before. What should I do differently? Thanks!
Hi Shana! Next time, try covering the french toast with foil for the first 30 minutes, then bake uncovered for another 20-30 minutes. The extra 10 minutes should take care of the sogginess and the foil will keep the top from burning. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and Happy New Year! xTieghan
Best French toast I’ve ever tasted or made!! I added some fresh frozen rhubarb to strawberry jam and it created the most amazing syrup based on your instructions. What a great idea—genius.
Thank you so much Janet! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was delicious! The raspberry preserves really help cut the richness. I could not find challah bread, so I substituted with cinnamon brioche I found at Walmart and cut back the cinnamon. Mine did not get crispy on the bottom. I think it was because I had to put foil on it straight out of the oven to take to my aunt’s house.
I am so glad this turned out so well for you Elizabeth! Thank you! xTieghan
This is a great breakfast! I LOVE recipes that can be put in the fridge to night before, making morning prep time minimal. I have probably made 15 or more different French toast overnight casseroles, this is by far the best. I followed the recipe to a “t” and would only make two suggestions. One; depending on the size of the challah bread loaf, one may not be enough. I needed about 1 1/3 to 1 1/2. Same sized pan in the recipe, so I would recommend having an extra loaf on hand. Two, thinning the raspberry preserves made for a great syrup. However, 1/2 cup of water made it a little thinner than I would have liked. I would cut that down to 1/3 or less (or add more preserves) for a syrup with a little more density. Amazing taste though, and will be a yearly Christmas staple. Thank you!
I am so glad you loved this Kathi! Thank you!! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xTieghan
This was a hit! Not too sweet and just the right amount of custard. Thank you so much!
Thank you! I am so glad this turned out so well for you Dani! xTieghan
I made this over the weekend and it was so yummy! I didn’t have the Grand Marnier (orange liqueur) so I used the same measurement of fresh squeezed orange juice and also zested one orange. It’s a great flavor addition.
Thank you so much Karlee! xTieghan
If I make this in a ceramic pan do I have to let it sit to room temperature? Will the pan break?
HI! What do you mean? Why would the pan break? If you are refrigerating, yes let the dish sit for a bit at room temp before baking to take the chill off. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
This looks perfect for my visitors for Christmas Eve morning or Christmas morning. I do not enjoy eating eggs much and prefer my French toast lighter in egg/custard. It looks very good though and the photos don’t look like it is too “custardy”. Maybe I’ll try a half recipe in smaller dish to test it out & see how it turns out. And if not if it’’s possible to make with less egg & milk & not be too dry.
I hope you do try it Kathleen! It is one of my favorites! Let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hey! Can you make this ahead? Like, I think it would be perfect for Xmas morning but I don’t want to spend the time in the kitchen ☺️ Thanks!!
Hey Tiffany, you can prepare this up to 3 days ahead of time and keep in the fridge. To bake, remove from the fridge while the oven preheats, then bake as directed. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
I have a friend that supplies my family with wonderful homemade sourdough each week. Would sourdough work with this recipe?
Hi Annette! Sourdough will give this a slightly different flavor, but it will be delicious! Great idea. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
Looks yummy … what would you serve with this for an 11 o’clock Christmas Brunch?
HI! I would add an egg dish, something savory! How about the below recipe? Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/crispy-breakfast-potatoes/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/everything-cheesy-potato-and-egg-breakfast-casserole/
Tieghan, could this be made ahead and frozen. If so would you freeze it before or after baking?
Thank you
Hello Pat! Yes you could make this ahead. I would suggest freezing after baking. Let us know how it works out!
I would be cooking it on Friday and serving on Sunday
Can the Creme Brulee French toast be made three days in advance?
Hi Sophia! Yes, you can make this 3 days ahead and keep in the fridge until ready to bake. I’d recommend allowing the french toast to come to room temp while the oven preheats. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan