Baked French Toast with Pecan Crumble |Cooking With Amanda

Friday, October 24, 2014

Baked French Toast with Pecan Crumble

Bon Appétit | December 2013

by Paula Disbrowe

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Baked French Toast with Pecan Crumble recipe

photo by Jeremy Liebman

yield
Makes 8 servings

active time
30 minutes

total time
3 hours 45 minutes (includes soaking time)

Drying out the challah lets it absorb the custard without going to mush. You can also use brioche.

Ingredients

French toast:

1 1-pound loaf challah, sliced 1" thick
Unsalted butter, room temperature (for baking dish)
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Pecan crumble and assembly:

1/2 cup pecans
2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Blackberry Syrup

Preparation

For french toast:
Spread out bread on a rimmed baking sheet; let stand overnight.

Butter a 13x9" baking dish. Cut bread so slices are similar in size. Arrange, overlapping, in rows in prepared dish.

Whisk eggs, egg yolks, cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Pour over bread, pressing bread to help it soak up custard. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

DO AHEAD: Bread can be soaked 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

For pecan crumble and assembly:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Pulse pecans, butter, brown sugar, and salt in a food processor until nuts are coarsely chopped.

Scatter pecan crumble over soaked bread. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet and cover tightly with foil. Bake until warmed through (a knife inserted into the center should feel warm to the touch), 25–30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until deeply browned, 35–40 minutes longer. Let cool slightly before serving with Blackberry Syrup.

DO AHEAD: Pecan mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.