Blueberry Croissant French Toast Casserole

July 22, 2023 By

I love a recipe you can prep in advance that doesn’t require a lot of work once my guests arrive. Just love spending time with my guests vs having them speak at my back while I’m making food.

One such recipe is this Blueberry French Toast Casserole that’s prepared the evening prior to your brunch and pop in the oven to bake while you’re entertaining.

It’s blueberry season now so I’m using that berry, but this dish is also great with sliced strawberries or blackberries. I use Quebec maple syrup but use any good quality syrup. I like making this with buttery croissants, but brioche of challah bread would be great also.

Ingredients:

  • 12 cups croissants torn into bit size pieces (about 10 medium sized croissants)
  • 10 large eggs
  • 1 cup, plus more for serving
  • 1 cup milk (not low-fat)
  • 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, optional
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups blueberries
  • 1/2 tsp. lemon zest, optional
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup, plus more for serving
  • 2 Tbsp. confectionary sugar, optional
Croissant Pieces
Custard Over Croissants
Add Blueberries and Maple

Directions:

  1. Butter or coat with cooking spray a 9″x13″ baking dish. Add the croissants pieces to the casserole. It might seem like a lot of croissants, but after they soak into the custard overnight, the mixture will shrink some.
  2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, 1 cup of cream, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon (if using), and brown sugar. Whisk the mixture until fully blended, about 1 minute. Pour the mixture over the croissant pieces and push down on the croissant with a spatula to ensure all the pieces are soaking into the custard.
  3. Add the blueberries, lemon zest (if using) and drizzle with the maple syrup.
  4. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap, or foil, and place in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 5 hours.
  5. When ready to bake, turn oven on to 350 degrees F, allow to preheat then place the casserole in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the casserole top is golden brown (see pics for reference).
  6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Dust with confectionary sugar, if using.
  7. Serve with additional maple syrup and a drizzle of cream.

Makes 10 servings.

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Breakfast, Eggs, Fish, French Tagged With: , , , ,
8 November 2011 Raspberry Croissant Bread Pudding

Raspberry Croissant Bread Pudding

November 8, 2011 By

I recently attended a berry virtual tasting hosted by Driscoll’s and WineTwits and created the following recipe to share with the group.  The results are just as tasty when blackberries are used.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cup half and half
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp.  pure vanilla extract
  • 4 croissants, cut into1/2” cubes
  • 1 6-ounce container of fresh raspberries

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  2. Heat cream and half and half in a saucepan over medium heat until just simmering.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, ¾ cup sugar and vanilla until well combined.  Add a ladleful of hot cream to the egg mixture and whisk well to bring up the temperature of the eggs.  Add the rest of the cream to the egg custard and whisk well.
  4. Add the cubed croissants to the custard and gently push down the cubes into the liquid to ensure they absorb as much custard as possible.  Set aside for 20 minutes.
  5. Lightly coat four 10-ounce ramekins with cooking spray.  Add two raspberries to each ramekin then divide the bread and custard mixture between the four dishes.  Divide the remaining raspberries amount the dishes and sprinkle each with the rest of the sugar, about one teaspoon each.
  6. Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake for about 35 minutes, until puddings are puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.  Serve while still warm with a drizzle of Blackberry Balsamic Coulis and/or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Makes 4 servings.

Filed Under: American, Canadian, Desserts, Eggs, French, Fruits Tagged With: , , , ,