Fall is in the air where I live. I busted out my leather boots and long sleeve sweaters this week and have been enjoying cool, sun-shiny days watching the leaves just start to change colors. As soon as the temperatures start dropping, my oven temps start rising. I love cooking more casseroles, soups, and stews, and on cool weekend mornings, I love making special breakfast dishes that we can lounge around and eat in our jammies. This weekend I took one of my favorites: Our Overnight Baked French Toast, and gave it an autumn-y makeover. It’s got the subtle warmth of pumpkin, and homey spices that scream fall time. I added an improved streusel crumb topping that knocks it out of the park, and when drizzled with melted butter and real maple syrup and topped with a dollop of whipped cream, this is pure heaven. You’ll need a bunch of eggs- and let’s just remember these are in there during that moment when you realize this is basically dessert for breakfast. It has eggs so it totally counts. Crack 8 eggs and whisk them up.
Now for the pumpkin. I’m packing a double punch here, first with straight-up pumpkin puree, and then….with this: You can find pumpkin spice egg nog at most stores right now. If you look at the egg nog, the first 5 ingredients are: milk, cream, sugar, pasteurized egg yolks, and pumpkin puree. Basically everything that goes into a dish like this! The eggs add to the creamy custard, the cream adds richness, and then you get the extra pumpkin spice flavor. So start by opening up a can of pumpkin puree (or you can use homemade, using this tutorial.) Whisk some pumpkin into the eggs so it’s a lovely orange color and nice and smooth. We’re using 1 cup of pumpkin, but keep the rest around. I have a recipe coming later this week that uses the exact amount you have left. (Or make a Pumpkin Pie Milkshake!) Then whisk in the pumpkin egg nog. Combine it until it’s nice and smooth, and then we’ll add in some additional flavor. Whisk in a generous dose of vanilla, some dark brown sugar, and some pumpkin pie spice. Also some cinnamon.
We’re going to pour this over some diced bread. I just grab a loaf of french bread from the grocery store bakery. I try and get it 2-3 days before I’m going to use it, and just leave it bagged and whole until you’re ready to use it. Then dice it up into 1-inch cubes. Your egg mixture is going to be especially thick, because egg nog is considerably thicker than regular milk. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes. Now, usually I just pour the mixture right into the pan (like I’m doing here in this photo) but if you have a bowl large enough, I would suggest gently tossing the bread and egg mixture together in a bowl first, letting it sit for a couple of minutes and then tossing again, just to help all of those bread cubes get covered and soaked. Then you can pour it all into a buttered pan. That pan goes into the fridge overnight so it can have lots of time for the bread to absorb the liquid. When that’s all done, mix up a little topping. It’s a quick blend of brown sugar, white sugar, a touch of flour, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and mozarella cheese. JK dudes, I just grated my cold butter with a cheese grater. Seriously- don’t put cheese in there. Then just use your fingers to crumble it all up. Place this little bowl in the fridge overnight. In the morning, pull your pan out while your oven is pre-heating and sprinkle the crumbly topping all over the top. Also, eat some of the crumbly topping, but try not to let anyone see you. Bake it in the oven for about 45 minutes and it will get puffed and golden on top. Hello Gorgeous. The topping gets crispy and crunchy, and the sugary crumbles are such an awesome contrast to the smooth custardy french toast below. Let it cool for a few minutes and then cut it into squares and serve. I’d definitely recommend drizzling with 100% real maple syrup here.
And just because it probably doesn’t have enough calories yet, I really, really, love some melted butter on there too. I mean, it’s french toast- it’s only natural. Annnnd since we’re going all out here, top with a little whipped cream (or Cool Whip) and sprinkle on some pumpkin pie spice. Oh my gosh, I die.
This makes a perfect weekend breakfast during these cool autumn months, or it would be really fun on Halloween or Thanksgiving morning!
