Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast
Published Sept. 22, 2022
- Total Time
- 40 minutes, plus overnight chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus more for greasing the pan
- 2cups/480 milliliters whole milk
- 4large eggs
- ¼(packed) cup/50 grams light brown sugar
- 4teaspoons store-bought or homemade pumpkin spice blend (see Tip)
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½teaspoon fine salt
- 1pound enriched bread loaf, like challah or brioche, cut into ¾-inch-thick slices
- Maple syrup
- Chopped toasted walnuts or pecans or fresh berries (optional)
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Preparation
- Step 1
Butter a 9-by-13-inch metal, glass or ceramic baking dish.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin spice blend, vanilla and salt.
- Step 3
Dip each piece of bread in the milk mixture, then lay it in the prepared pan in slightly overlapping layers. Pour the remaining milk mixture over the top. Gently press the bread into the custard, then cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
- Step 4
When you are ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees, uncover the dish, and gently flip each piece of bread, one at a time, so the side that is more saturated with custard is on the top. Rearrange the slices decoratively, as needed, so the rounded edges of the slices are exposed. Dot the top with the 3 tablespoons butter and cover with foil.
- Step 5
Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and bake until lightly browned, slightly puffy in the center, and cooked through, 15 to 20 more minutes. Tent with foil if the top is browning too quickly.
- Step 6
Let cool slightly before serving with maple syrup, and nuts or fruit, if desired.
- Make your own pumpkin spice blend by combining 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon ground allspice and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves. Makes about ¼ cup.
Private Notes
Comments
As with most of these overnight soaking French toasts, I was worried about the cooking time because it's starting so cold. I baked it for the first 20 minutes at 375 degrees with the foil on, then removed the foil and dropped the temperature to 350 degrees for the second 20 minutes, and it came out perfectly. Enjoy!
I saw this recipe after I had shopped, so I the only bread I had was a croissant loaf, and it tasted great, and I tore it up to have more edges to get crisped in the oven, but I am certain a denser loaf like challah would have been better. I also finely diced a pear I had and added before baking, and chopped some candied pecans and added along with the syrup. I really liked this, simple and the aroma from the oven made my whole apartment smell wonderful.
I halved the recipe. Placed the bread in 8” square pan and just poured the custard mix on top, ensuring every bit of the surface was wet. Didn’t bother to flip the bread in the morning. Baked as directed. It was delicious.
Baked right after taking out of the fridge and topping with butter. Total cook time was closer to 55 minutes and it was still very moist with little browning, despite having the foil off for 35-40 minutes. Tasted great and reminded me of a very tasty bread pudding. I loved it with some cooked apple on top while others used the toasted walnuts as well as apple. With the brown sugar in the custard, it really only needed a drizzle of maple syrup.
Way too much dipping and flipping in this recipe. I cube the bread in 3/4 inch cubes, pile it in the buttered casserole dish (but I use cooking spray; easier), then pour over the custard mixture and refrigerate overnight. Saves time, saves steps, is delicious.
THIS IS GREAT. I made it as is. The little tip, the flipping of it after it soaks overnight made a big difference. My family gobbled this up. I also made a little homemade cranberry apple sauce to serve it with.
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