Overnight Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
You can use any type of bread- crusty french bread is great but I also use sandwich bread with great results- it will just be a little softer.
Ingredients
- 8 Cups of cubed or torn bread pack it in measuring cup- you want the pan 2/3 to 3/4 full of bread
- 8 eggs
- 2 Cups of whole Milk
- 1/2 Cup heavy cream
- 3/4 Cup Sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
Topping
- 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- dash of salt
- 1/2 cup 1 stick of cold butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans optional
Instructions
The night before
- Grease a 9x13 pan with butter. Place bread in pan evenly.
- In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well combined. Whisk in pumpkin. Pour evenly over bread in pan. Press down to coat all the bread. Cover tightly and place in refrigerator overnight.
- For topping; in bowl of a food processor or in a medium bowl (if doing by hand) combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pulse or stir briefly to combine ingredients. Add in butter and pulse in food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Or cut butter into flour mixture by hand using a pastry blender. Quickly stir in pecans, if using, by hand. Place mixture in an airtight container or bag and store in refrigerator until morning.
In the morning
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
- Evenly sprinkle topping over bread mixture in pan. Place in oven and bake until puffed up, golden and topping is crisp, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from oven, cool a few minutes and serve with syrup if desired.
Notes
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for several days. Reheats well.
****I am all in favor of using what you have- you can make this richer and creamier by adjusting the ratio of heavy cream to milk. Don't have heavy cream- use half and half to replace the heavy cream and some of the milk.
****I am all in favor of using what you have- you can make this richer and creamier by adjusting the ratio of heavy cream to milk. Don't have heavy cream- use half and half to replace the heavy cream and some of the milk.