Raisin French Toast Casserole Recipe

I made this for a brunch I was having with my pregnant sister, Aunt, and Grandma. I tried to keep it sweet, simple, and delicious. I bought a loaf of freshly baked raisin bread the night before, and realized how good it would be as french toast. Then, I immediately had a flashback of this amazing french bread casserole Mark’s mom makes. I thought this would be a great time to try and make something similar to it, besides, who doesn’t love a warm, sweet, buttery casserole?

I have fond childhood memories of raisin bread growing up. My grandma always seemed to have it handy, that and pumpernickel bread, which has yet to grow on me. I would love to actually make my own raisin bread, from scratch. If anyone has a great raisin bread recipe, please let me know! I would love to try it out.

If you do not have raisin bread, you can use french bread, or just about any kind of bread. Well, maybe not any bread, I don’t see garlic bread or pumpernickel bread meshing well with this casserole. But if you do use a bread other than raisin bread, I would suggest adding 1/2 cup extra of sugar to the egg/milk mixture, and maybe a smidge more of cinnamon. You can also add raisins to the mix.

Next time, I think I might try an orange infused maple syrup to top with this dish. This could be done simply by pouring one cup of pure maple syrup into a small sauce pan, over a low heat, then add 1 teaspoon of fresh orange zest. Bring to a light boil for 2 minutes. Strain syrup to catch all the zest flecks, and drizzle over your delicious french toast casserole. This amount should be sufficient enough for four guests. If you need more, simply double the ingredients. I love infusing things!

Ingredients – If the mixture seems a little dry, add more milk to your casserole, 1/2 cup at a time.

• 1 loaf of raisin bread, cubed
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup half & half
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cube (1/4 cup) of butter, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped
• 1/3 cup brown sugar

Directions

1. This should be done the night before, or at least give yourself 3-4 hours for soaking time
2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix milk, half & half, salt, eggs, and vanilla until lightly beaten
3. Using a deep 8×8 baking pan, layer in half of your raisin bread cut in cubes, pour half of egg/milk mixture on top
4. top with slivers of butter (only half of butter amount)
5. Layer in the rest of the cubed raisin bread, pour the remaining amount of mixture on top, evenly sprinkle brown sugar over casserole, then finish off with the rest of the slivered butter. Last, but not least, top off casserole with toasted pecans.
6. Cover casserole with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or if you’re baking the same day, then let casserole soak for 3-4 hours inside the refrigerator
7. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 45-50 minutes, when done, casserole should look puffed up and golden brown on top
8. Serve with maple syrup, or do what we did and top it off with freshly whipped cream and sliced strawberries and blackberries.