This gooey buttery French toast can be made the night before so you can easily enjoy a decadent brunch when you wake up. Inspired by my great love of French toast and gooey butter cake (from St. Louis, like me!). This makes a big casserole of fluffy challah bread in a simple cream and egg bath, topped with a magic mix that’s gooey yet crispy.
Preparation:
To cook:
Level: Easy
Ingredients
- FOR THE FRENCH TOAST:
- 1 loaf challah bread
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup Half half
- ½ cups Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoons Ground cinnamon
- FOR THE GLUOUS BUTTER TOPPING:
- 1-½ stick Softened butter
- 1-½ cup Granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cups Light corn syrup
- 2 Large eggs, at room temperature
- 1-½ tsp Vanilla extract
- ¼ cups Milk
- 1 cup Cake flour
- Powdered sugar, for sprinkling
Preparation
For the French toast:
Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cut bread into 1-inch slices and arrange in pan, overlapping slightly if necessary to fit.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until they break up. Stir in half and half, milk, vanilla extract and cinnamon until combined. Pour the mixture over the slices of bread.
For the gooey butter filling:
Combine butter, sugar, salt and corn syrup in the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl.
On medium-low speed, add 1 egg and mix until combined. Then add the rest of the egg and the vanilla extract.
Add milk and cake flour and mix on low speed to combine. Scrape the bowl and stir one last time.
Spread the butter filling on the bread and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the bread has puffed up slightly and the gooey butter filling has started to brown around the edges and is lightly browned. You can check under the filling and to the side to make sure the filling and filling have thickened, but it won’t be completely firmed up since you want it gooey!
Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and serve. Serve with something savory if that seems too intensely sweet for some eaters.
