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french toast bake in a white baking dish with maple syrup set to the side

Baked French Toast

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5 from 5 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield 8 servings
Category Breakfast/Brunch
Cuisine American/French
Author Lauren Grant

Description

Spiced apples meet brunch-worthy French toast in our Baked French Toast Recipe. Custard-soaked slices of rich challah get layered with spiced apples and topped with candied nuts. It’s the perfect hybrid between French toast, apple pie and sweet rolls.

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Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 ¼ cups whole milk, warmed
  • ¼ + ⅓ cup pure maple syrup, divided
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg, divided
  • Morton kosher salt
  • 5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored (about 2 ⅓ pounds)
  • ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 (1-pound) loaf challah, cut in ¾-inch-thick slices
  • ½ cup raw pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

  • Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon softened butter or nonstick cooking spray. Heat oven to 350ºF (177ºC).
  • In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, ¼ cup maple syrup, vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
    spiced custard in a glass bowl with a whisk in it
  • Slice peeled and cored apples into ¼-inch thick slices.
    peeled, cored and sliced apples on a wooden cutting board
  • Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add apples, brown sugar, remaining ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, remaining ½ teaspoon nutmeg, cardamom and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until apples are nearly fork-tender and syrup is thickened; 8–10 minutes.
    cooked apple sliced in a saute pan
  • Dip each slice of challah into custard mixture, flipping, for about 5 seconds.
    slice of challah bread floating in custard in a large glass bowl
  • Arrange soaked slices at an angle in an overlapping pattern in prepared baking dish. Pour any remaining custard over bread.
    challah bread layered in a casserole dish
  • Layer cooked apple slices between layered bread slices.
    slices of apple and challah layered in a baking dish
  • Bake until puffy, about 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and ⅓ cup maple syrup to skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar syrup has thickened and leaves a trail when spatula runs through (and takes 3 seconds to fill in), about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in walnuts and ⅛ teaspoon salt.
  • Remove baking dish from oven, pour caramel over french toast and continue baking until top is golden brown and center is set, about 25 minutes more.
  • Serve with warm maple syrup or a dusting or powdered sugar.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/8 of recipeCalories: 515kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 13gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 169mgSodium: 445mgFiber: 6gSugar: 40g
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