Overnight French Toast with Caramel Apple Sauce Recipe

Chef notes

I love this recipe because it is a great way to use bread that is going stale and make a fabulous breakfast dish that can be prepped the night before. All you have to do is pop it in the oven to bake off the next morning while you make the apple foster sauce. Plus, the flambé moment is a really fun entertaining trick for a crowd. This is a super decadent and delicious breakfast. The perfect sweet treat to add to your autumnal brunch display.

Technique Tip: If using fresh bread, toast the slices in the oven at 350 F to dry for 15 to 20 minutes, turning halfway through.

Swap Option: Swap apples with bananas, pears or figs. Swap challah with brioche.

Preparation1.

Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Set aside.

2.

In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Whisk in 1 cup heavy cream, whole milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and eggs until combined.

3.

Arrange the bread slices in overlapping rows in the baking dish. Pour the liquid mixture over all of the bread slices, pressing down the tops of the bread to make sure all slices are properly coated in the liquid mixture. Cover and refrigerate for one hour and up to overnight.

4.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove the French toast from the refrigerator.

5.

Uncover and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes until the tops are golden and the custard looks set, rotating halfway through. If the tops brown too quickly, loosely cover with foil. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

6.

Meanwhile, make the caramel apple sauce: In a large skillet set over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon butter. Once bubbling and melted, add the apples and cook for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Remove the apples from the pan and set aside.

7.

In the same skillet, add 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup brown sugar and whisk until the butter is melted. Pour in the rum and carefully light the rum on fire — the mixture will remain on fire for 20 to 40 seconds. Then whisk. Add in 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and whisk to combine. Season with kosher salt to taste. Add the apples back into the sauce and cook for 2 minutes more, until the sauce is clinging to the apples.

7.

Spoon the apples over the top of the French toast casserole, slice and drizzle with sauce.