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Cranberry orange French toast casserole with brioche cubes, cranberries and pecan streusel in a white baking dish

Cranberry Orange French Toast Casserole

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Day old brioche soaked overnight in a maple orange custard with cranberries rubbed in orange sugar, then baked on Christmas morning under a crisp pecan streusel. No eggnog, a custard center that sets cleanly, and a full Christmas Eve and Christmas morning schedule.

  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus overnight chilling
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 loaf day old brioche or challah (16 ounces), cut into 1 inch cubes (about 10 cups)
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, large berries coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, plus more warmed for serving
  • 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, for the streusel
  • 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • Powdered sugar, for serving

Instructions

  1. On Christmas Eve, rub the granulated sugar and orange zest together in a small bowl with your fingertips until the sugar looks damp and smells strongly of orange. Toss the cranberries through the orange sugar and set aside.
  2. Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Spread half of the bread cubes in the dish, scatter half of the sugared cranberries over them, then repeat with the remaining bread and cranberries.
  3. Whisk the eggs, milk, heavy cream, maple syrup, orange juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl until completely smooth. Pour the custard slowly and evenly over the bread.
  4. Press the bread gently with clean hands or a spatula until every top cube looks moist. Cover the dish tightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 18 hours.
  5. On Christmas morning, take the casserole out of the refrigerator and let it stand for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Stir the flour, brown sugar and streusel cinnamon in a bowl, rub in the cold butter until coarse crumbs form, then stir in the pecans.
  6. Scatter the streusel evenly over the casserole. Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
  7. Remove the foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more, until the top is golden, the edges puff and the center gives only a slight wobble when the dish is nudged. A knife inserted in the center should come out with moist crumbs, not liquid custard.
  8. Rest the casserole for 15 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar, cut into squares and serve with warm maple syrup.
  • Author: Chef Jordan
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 455
  • Sugar: 29
  • Sodium: 330
  • Fat: 21
  • Saturated Fat: 11
  • Unsaturated Fat: 10
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 56
  • Fiber: 3
  • Protein: 11
  • Cholesterol: 165

Find it online: https://cookaza.com/cranberry-orange-french-toast-casserole/