I'm just going to say it for everybody. "Casserole" doesn't sound appetizing. The word just has a bad connotation attached to it in the food world. You can blame things like Tuna casserole and other crazy concussions for that. However, I'm here to break that stigma. There are plenty of delicious casserole dishes out there. Lasanaga, baked ziti, and baked macaroni and cheese are great examples of amazing "casserole" dishes. Well, let me introduce one more to add to that list...French Toast Casserole. Yes, you read that right. French Toast Casserole. I love this dish so much! There's no need to soak the bread overnight. There's no need to stand over an oven and slave away flipping the bread at precisely the right moment. Nope, this dish allows you to put everything in one casserole dish, bake it off and you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. This version of french toast casserole is called "berries and cream french toast casserole." For good reason too. We have berries and cream cheese in the casserole. Then, we top it off with more berries and some whipped cream. Once you take a bite of your warm french toast, you'll think you died and went to heaven. It will take you to another dimension. I'm tellin' you.
To start, cut the bread you'll be using into thick ½" to 1" slices. Butter your 9x13" casserole dish very liberally. Place your bread slices in the arrangement you'd like until the bread reaches the top rim of the dish. Bake the bread off for 10 minutes at 250°F to dry out the bread a bit.
While the bread is in the oven, you can prep your cream cheese "stuffing" mixture. We're replicating the cream cheese stuffing of a stuffed french toast. Mix the softened cream cheese, vanilla extract, lemon juice, zest, salt until well combined. Set to the side.
Mix the custard ingredients together until well combined. Set to the side.
Once the casserole is out of the oven, place the berries you're using over the top of the casserole and try to push many down so they reach the bottom and middle of the dish. Make sure the berries are spread to a variety of places in the dish. Now, use a spoon to dollop the cream cheese mixture into the casserole. Again, ensure you spread to a variety of places in the dish. Make sure to get the corners, middle, top, etc.
In a medium bowl, combine the streusel topping ingredients until it clumps together and resembles the texture of wet sand. Sprinkle this topping over the top of the casserole as evenly as possible.
Bake the casserole at 350°F for 40 minutes, half the time covered with foil and the remaining half uncovered.
Wait for about ten minutes for the casserole to "settle" so you can cut into it without it totally falling apart. Serve warm and enjoy!
See how I do it:
To start, cut the bread you'll be using into thick ½" to 1" slices. Butter your 9x13" casserole dish very liberally. Place your bread slices in the arrangement you'd like until the bread reaches the top rim of the dish. Bake the bread off for 10 minutes at 250°F to dry out the bread a bit. While the bread is in the oven, in a medium-sized bowl, mix the softened cream cheese, vanilla extract, lemon juice, zest, salt until well combined. Set to the side. In a large bowl, whisk the custard ingredients together until well combined. Set to the side. Once the casserole is out of the oven, place the berries you're using over the top of the casserole and try to push many down so they reach the bottom and middle of the dish. Make sure the berries are spread to a variety of places in the dish. Now, use a spoon to dollop the cream cheese mixture into the casserole. Again, ensure you spread to a variety of places in the dish. Make sure to get the corners, middle, top, etc. In a medium bowl, use your clean hands to combine the streusel topping ingredients until it all clumps together and resembles the texture of wet sand. Sprinkle this topping over the top of the casserole as evenly as possible. Bake the casserole at 350°F for 40 minutes, half the time covered with foil and the remaining half uncovered. Wait for about ten minutes for the casserole to "settle" so you can cut into it without it totally falling apart. Serve warm and enjoy! Storage: Covered - one day at room temp and two days in the fridge. Re-heat in the oven at 250°F until it's warmed up again.
You can use any berries and serve as you'd like.
You can use white bread, challah, brioche or French bread. Key is to dry the bread out and make sure the slices are reasonably thick.
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
