(April is a guest blogger from Girl Gone Gourmet.)
If there’s ever a time to go big for breakfast or brunch it’s during the holidays, right? This holiday spice baked French toast is a decadent way to celebrate the season – thick slices of French bread are soaked in a velvety mixture of eggs and cream and baked up with a nutty sweet streusel topping spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, all spice, and cloves. It all bakes together in one dish, so no need to stand at the stove all morning flipping French toast. Just pop it in the oven and then pour a cup of coffee, kick back and enjoy the wonderful holiday aroma that fills your house. While it bakes the top turns a toasty golden brown and the buttery sweet streusel topping melts down in between all the pieces of bread. Oh, and did I mention you can make it ahead? Yep, go ahead and assemble it the night before and give yourself a little extra snooze time in the morning.
The holidays just got a little bit happier.
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
For the French Toast
4 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup 2% milk
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large (12 inches), day-old French bread loaf, sliced into 1 inch slices
For the Streusel Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
1. For the French toast, spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl whisk the eggs, cream, milk, spices, and vanilla together until well combined. Submerge one slice of bread in the egg mixture for a few seconds and then transfer to the baking dish. Repeat with each slice of bread. Pour any of the remaining egg mixture over the top of the bread in the baking dish.
2. In a separate bowl, mix all of the ingredients for the streusel topping together until it forms crumbles. The easiest way to achieve the right texture is to use your hands to squeeze it together until it forms small clumps. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the bread in the baking dish.
3. Cover the baking dish with foil and chill it in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the foil from the baking dish and bake the French toast for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove it from the oven and let it stand a few minutes before serving. It can be served as is or with additional butter and a drizzle of maple syrup.
