Spring Brunch Strawberry French Toast (Printable)

Baked French toast with strawberries and creamy custard, finished with a cinnamon crumb topping.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Bread & Dairy

01 - 1 loaf brioche or challah bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
02 - 6 large eggs
03 - 2 cups whole milk
04 - 1/2 cup heavy cream
05 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
06 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
07 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
08 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

→ Fruit

09 - 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

→ Topping

10 - 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
11 - 1/4 cup brown sugar
12 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
13 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

→ Finish

14 - Powdered sugar for dusting, optional
15 - Maple syrup for serving

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and set aside.
02 - Arrange bread cubes evenly in the prepared baking dish. Scatter sliced strawberries over the bread layer.
03 - In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt until well combined.
04 - Pour custard mixture evenly over bread and strawberries. Gently press down with a spatula to ensure all bread pieces absorb the custard. Let stand 5 minutes if time permits.
05 - In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add cold butter cubes and work mixture with a pastry cutter or fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle evenly over casserole.
06 - Bake for 40-45 minutes until custard is set and top is golden brown.
07 - Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Dust lightly with powdered sugar if desired. Serve warm with maple syrup.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • You can assemble it the night before and just pop it in the oven when guests arrive, which means you're actually relaxed and not stressed.
  • The combination of creamy custard, fresh berries, and buttery crumb topping hits every texture and flavor you didn't know you needed at once.
  • It looks like you spent hours in the kitchen when really you spent twenty minutes prepping and let the oven do the magic.
02 -
  • Don't skip the ten-minute rest after baking, because cutting into it immediately will result in a soupy mess no matter how set it looks.
  • If you assemble this the night before, the bread will soak up even more custard and become almost bread-pudding-like, which is actually better if you love that texture but might be too soft if you prefer more structure.
03 -
  • Slice your strawberries right before assembling so they don't weep juice and make everything soggy before it bakes.
  • If you're assembling ahead, wrap the unbaked casserole tightly so the custard doesn't develop a weird skin on top overnight.
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