baked pumpkin pie crunch french toast
Pardon my slobber all over this blog post.
I’ve never been the biggest lover of French toast in general, like the traditional stovetop preparation where you dunk a couple slices in egg and cook it straightaway. I found it rather uninteresting and a bit unappealing, usually mushy, even mushier when you plaster maple syrup all over it (which is imperative for French toast, duh). We much preferred pancakes or waffles growing up, when I wasn’t scarfing down Spam and hash browns like it was my job.
Yeah, my eating habits as a kid were pretty frightening.
I’m fairly sure what changed my mind about French toast preparation, though, was having the stuffed French toast from IHop when I was a kid. That shit blew my fucking socks off. Though I’m not privy to eating that intense of a sugar bomb nowadays, I realized that a custardy bread could be pretty incredible if jazzed up enough. Over time, I learned about French toast casseroles, and eventually bakes like this one. Certainly altered my vision.
The holidays, or just the cooler months, are an ideal time to indulge with fancier brunches and heartier treats. This Baked Pumpkin Pie Crunch French Toast provides a sweet treat for your guests Thanksgiving morning, or a delectable and simple brunch to pull out of the fridge and bake up to send wafts of autumn spice floating through the awakening home. Pumpkin spice custard swims over fluffy challah bread, and you bet you will have inappropriate dreams about that cinnamon crunch topping. It debuted in my Cinnamon Crunch Chai Banana Bread and it is dope on top of this breakfast bake.
No shame if you have to change your underwear after a bite.
Gotta Get Down on Pie-Day
You will definitely look forward to the weekend with this baby in your plans.
I love most that this dish is even better the longer you let the bread slices sit in the custard. I prefer an overnight soak if I can, but an hour will do if that’s all you’ve got. So, if you’re serving this up on Thanksgiving, it’s a thing you can prep the night before and just slap into the oven the morning of to awaken your guests with the most gorgeous bouquet of warming aromas.
The custard is simple: eggs, milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, lots of pumpkin pie spices, and a good hit of vanilla. Whisk it up until thick and creamy, then dunk your bread slices into the batter. I use challah, but brioche is perfectly acceptable as well if that’s easier to obtain.
Arrange the slices in a large baking dish and pour the rest of the custard overtop. Use all of it – the bread will absorb the liquid, so don’t worry if the level gets a bit high so long as it doesn’t spill over. If it does, you need a bigger pan, friend.
Pop the toast in the fridge and forget about it until you’re ready to bake.
Crunch Crunch
That cinnamon crunch topping should be illegal. I easily swipe at the scraps in the bowl when I’ve used the bulk of it, and when it crisps up in the oven some of the butter and sugar melts into the crevices of the toast and gahhhaghuikre. It’s unbelievable. Otherworldly. Legen-, wait for it…
When baking time comes, mix up the crunch munch and sprinkle it all over the breads. Cover up the dish with foil and bake, then after around 25 minutes remove the foil and finish baking. The tops of the slices will brown and turn crisp, while the interiors are gooey and coated in whatever cinnamon sugar falls into the loaf.
Foodgasm.
I actually find that I don’t need maple syrup on my serving, since the brown sugar and maple already in the batter lend enough sweetness, but I do love some plain vanilla whipped cream on a slab. Powdered sugar is never a bad idea either if you have a raging sugar craving. I don’t judge. I ate this shit for lunch so I definitely don’t have a place to judge.
Oh yeah, and…
Dary.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Brunch king:
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Baked Hot Chocolate French Toast with Pumpkin Whipped Cream
baked pumpkin pie crunch french toast
Ingredients
- 1 loaf challah or brioche bread, sliced
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 2 tbsp bourbon (optional)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 6 eggs, lightly beaten
- whipped cream and maple syrup, for serving
cinnamon crunch topping
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, milk, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, vanilla, bourbon, and eggs, until well combined.
- Dip each slice of challah or brioche into the custard and arrange in the baking dish. Repeat until all of the bread is used. Pour the remaining custard over the bread slices. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour, or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a small bowl, toss the brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, ginger, flour, and butter until combined. Sprinkle over the toast slices.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake 20 minutes longer until the tops of the bread slices are crisp and browned and the crunch topping bubbles around the bread slices.
- Divide French toast among plates. Serve warm, garnished with whipped cream and maple syrup, as desired.
