This time of year, I start to crave citrus in the worst way. Lemon, lime, tangerine, heck even grapefruit as long as it will quell my desire for a little zest. It’s times like these when I really start to get creative in the kitchen, injecting my classic dishes with that citrus flavor I so desire.

That bit of foreshadowing is leading up to my latest brunch obsession: a lemon-infused French Toast Custard Bake. If you’ve never tried a French Toast Bake before, you are seriously missing out. It’s kind of like the well-balanced child of French Toast and Bread Pudding and the best part is it can be prepared in advance, so all you have to do is bake it off come brunch-day-morning.

For this dish, I use slightly dry French bread. Not stale bread, not freshly made bread, just slightly dry bread that I have sliced and left out to dry for just a few hours. You can use any loaf of plain, crusty bread you can find but I generally use French bread, which is slightly bigger and less dense than a baguette, so it absorbs the liquid custard mixture well.

While this dish could certainly be prepared directly before baking, I would skip the melted butter on the bottoms of the bread slices in this scenario. The reason being is that the butter actually acts as a barrier, to keep the bread from absorbing too much liquid during an overnight rest.

Of course, no variation of French Toast would be complete without syrup! Skip the maple this time and go with this luscious Lemon Sauce instead. It has a flavor profile similar to lemon curd, but it pours like syrup. Bright, zesty lemon tempered with butter and sugar. Need I say more?

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LEMON FRENCH TOAST CUSTARD BAKE

Author: Katelyn Masters
Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 55 mins
Total Time: 8 hours 55 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Description

This easy overnight Lemon French Toast Custard Bake is perfect for brunch. Serve with homemade lemon sauce bursting with bright, zesty citrus flavor.

Scale

Ingredients

8 to 10 slices french bread, 1 inch thick
6 tablespoons butter, melted
4 eggs 2 egg yolks
3 cups milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 zest of lemons
4 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

If using fresh bread, lay slices out to dry for a few hours.
Grease a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.
Brush both sides of bread slices with butter and place in a single layer in baking dish.
In a large bowl, beat eggs and egg yolks. Add milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Mix well.
Pour custard mixture over the bread slices. Cover and chill overnight.
Remove bake from refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to baking.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until bread is puffy and golden.
Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.