I love French toast for breakfast but what I don't love is standing over the stove slow flipping one piece of toast at a time. All hail Baked French Toast!
Baked French Toast with Raspberry Compote Butter
I made this recipe for Baked French Toast with Raspberry Compote Butter for a girlfriend's brunch I threw and it's one of my all time favorites. Simply soak a big batch of bread in rich egg, cream and vanilla custard, layer in a baking dish and bake until golden and set. It's totally easy to do and perfect for serving a crowd, a party of girlfriends, or a hungry family.
Ingredients Needed for Baked French Toast
- The Perfect Bread for French Toast- personally I think that a soft French Bread or Brioche work best for French Toast! This is not the time to use sandwich bread. You'll want something you can cut thick and that has a nice fluffy texture.
- Eggs - this is the binder for your custard which the bread will be dipped in. Unlike French Toast cooked in a frying pan, this version won't run the risk of a scrambled egg coating. We've all had it happen.
- Milk & Cream- I use a combination of whole milk and heavy whipping cream to make the luxurious custard. You'll want these full-fat milks as apposed to a skim milk or almond milk for the most creamy custardy consistency.
- Sugar- I like to combine both white and brown sugar to give the toast sweetness and flavor!
- Vanilla Extract- use good high quality vanilla. You could also use almond extract however I would half the amount if you switch to almond.
- Salt - Don't skip the salt! This balances the sweet and intensifies the flavors.
How to Bake French Toast
Baking French Toast is so much easier than cooking it on the stove-top one slice at a time! If you have time to plan ahead, a soak in the custard overnight results in the best Baked French Toast. You might also enjoy my recipe for Eggnog French Toast which I make every holiday season. Here's how to make baked French Toast:
- Grease a baking pan with butter. Slice bread into thick slices and tile in the pan. In a large bowl combine eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Whisk until well combined. Pour custard evenly over the bread.
- Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until bread is completely soaked, preferably overnight.
- Bake French toast at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until french toast is cooked through and the the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm.
How to Make Raspberry Compote Butter
Making compote butter is so simple and delicious and you can really adapt it to any flavors you like based on the ingredients you mix into the butter.
Ingredients for Raspberry Compote Butter
- Salted Butter- you will want to make sure your butter is at room temperature making it easiest to mix.
- Raspberries- fresh berries work best as frozen will have too much moisture and can separate from the butter.
How to Make Compote Butter
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter for the raspberry compote until soft and fluffy. Mix in raspberries for just a few seconds until distributed.
- Turn butter mixture out onto plastic wrap and roll into a log. Seal tightly and refrigerate until hard.
- Once butter is firm it's ready to slice and serve.
Compote butter is delicious on French Toast, waffles, pancakes, biscuits, muffins and scones!
Top warm French toast with a thick slice of Raspberry Compote butter, hot maple syrup, fresh raspberries and a dollop of homemade whipped cream. What a breakfast treat!
More Valentine's Day Recipes:
- My Favorite Valentine's Day Recipes
- Seafood Cioppino
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
- Raspberry Lemon Sweet Rolls
Baked French Toast with Raspberry Butter
Classic Baked French Toast topped with fresh raspberries and served with raspberry compote butter.
Ingredients
- Butter, for the pan
- 1 loaf crusty French bread
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Raspberries, for serving
- Shredded coconut, for serving (optional)
- Maple syrup, for serving
- Whipped cream, for serving
- Raspberry compote butter, for serving
- For the raspberry compote butter:
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Grease a baking pan with butter. Slice bread into thick slices and tile in the pan. In a large bowl combine eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Wisk until well combined.
- Pour custard evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until bread is completely soaked, preferably overnight.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter for the raspberry compote until soft and fluffy. Mix in raspberries for just a few seconds until distributed. Turn butter mixture out onto plastic wrap and roll into a log. Seal tightly and refrigerate until hard.
- Bake French toast at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until french toast is cooked through and the the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and top with fresh raspberries.
- Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, additional raspberries, sliced raspberry compote butter and warm maple syrup.
Casey says
Flavored butter compotes are my favorite! I had a strawberry one once that was to die for!
Casey
http://thedistrictfox.com
Leah Bergman says
They really are delicious and so easy to make!
camillesimmons says
Beautiful and it looks so delicious. Love french toast! You're work is such an inspiration Leah 🙂
Leah Bergman says
Thank you so much, you are so sweet Camille! And it really is delicious. I hope you will give it a try. 😉
writingmonique says
I saw this on Instagram and I needed to know the recipe! I really wanna give this a try, it looks delicious!
WritingMonique
Leah Bergman says
Thanks Monique! It is delicious and really easy to make in advance. I hope you enjoy the recipe.