Berry croissant french toast bake with Soft, buttery, flaky croissants dipped in a cinnamon-orange eggs French toast "batter" and covered with sweet blueberry jam and creamy ricotta cheese. This is a great springtime or summertime make-ahead breakfast dish that looks quite attractive with fresh berries on top. There'll be no denying this French toast!

Ever wonder why it feels like brunch season in the spring? Whenever spring arrives, I usually publish breakfast recipes—especially in the days and weeks before Mother's Day!

I suppose I get a lot of inspiration to make the tastiest breakfast and brunch recipes around Mother's Day. Sweet breakfast is my mom's favourite food, hands down.

She's more of a crepe, French toast, pancake, and Dutch baby sort of girl. She wouldn't refuse a prepared breakfast. So when Mother's Day rolls around, I'm constantly coming up with fresh meals.

Due to house renovations, travel, and work this year, I thought that something straightforward but yet utilizing my mom's favourite tastes would be ideal.

She's a croissant lover, just like most of us. I've previously cooked French toast using croissants, but never to this extent. Today's was flavoured with orange zest, blueberry jam, whipped ricotta cheese, and Grand Marnier orange liqueur.

What You'll Need: French Toast Casserole Ingredients

• Large Croissants: For this recipe, day-old croissants work best. Better custard absorption will result in better-tasting, puffed, and less soggy French toast.

• Whole milk or half and half. Either will produce a delicious custard; but, half and half will taste a little richer as a holiday treat.

• Absolute Vanilla Extract. For the traditional French toast flavour of warm vanilla.

• Big Eggs. To use milk or half-and-half to make the custard foundation.

• Brown Sugar with a Light Finish. Enhances the custard's sweetness and delicate toffee flavour.

• Grind the nutmeg and cinnamon. Traditional French toast spices that go really well with berries.

• Kosher salt. A tiny bit to counterbalance the sweetness.

• Cut strawberries into ¾- to 1-inch chunks and blueberries are my go-to fresh fruit.

• Powdered sugar, maple syrup, dark rum (optional), and whipped cream are served.

Preparing A Crouton French Toast Overnight

Making this dish is a breeze, and you may prepare it in advance. First, butter an oval or rectangular baking dish that holds four to five quarts.

Cut the croissants in half lengthwise, much like you would when assembling a sandwich (like my Turkey and Brie Croissant Panini, which is a go-to dish in my home after the holidays!). The fluffy croissants are easy to slice with a sharp serrated knife. The Mercer Culinary Millennia 10-inch Bread Knife is my personal favourite.

Creating The Standard And Putting The Casserole Together

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, spices, vanilla, half and half or whole milk, and salt to form the custard. Coat each half of a croissant completely with the custard by dipping it in.

Place the croissants in the baking dish that has been greased, overlapping and spacing the halves to make them fit. Transfer the leftover custard onto the croissants, pressing them slightly to facilitate the absorption of the liquid.

Mix the blueberries and strawberries and place about ½ cup of them between the croissant pieces in the casserole. Distribute the leftover berries evenly on top.

The berries will plump up and become more flavourful while the berry croissant french toast bake. Some of the berries will burst if they are very juicy, giving the casseroles borders a sweet, jammy consistency. Excellent.

Read Also: Recipe for Homemade Carrot Cake Pancakes

Preparing The Macaroon

Refrigerate the baking dish for two to eight hours after covering it tightly. Before baking and serving, take the casserole out of the refrigerator thirty minutes in advance.

Bake for thirty minutes at 350 degrees F with a lid on. After uncovering, bake the French toast casserole for a further 15 to 20 minutes, or until it becomes golden and fluffy.

Serving Out Your Delicious Berry Croissant French Toast Bake

The casserole should stand for approximately ten minutes after taking it out of the oven to firm before slicing it into wedges and serving. I prefer to serve my visitors warm maple syrup or whipped cream with a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

Just warm up one cup of pure maple syrup in a small saucepan to create spiked syrup. When ready to serve, remove from heat and mix in 1 tablespoon of black rum.

I often like to serve this dish with a bowl of fresh mixed berries. The garnish, especially when paired with a dollop of whipped cream, creates a visually stunning display.

When did berry croissant french toast bake become popular?

Since the Renaissance, crescent-shaped breads have been produced, and maybe even earlier, crescent-shaped pastries. The contemporary croissant originated in the early 1900s when French bakers substituted a laminated dough that was set to rise with yeast for the brioche dough used in kipferl pastries.

From whence does French toast originate?

The first recorded French toast recipe dates back to Rome about 300 A.D. It was published in the cookbook "Cooking and Dining in Imperial Rome" by the Roman author Apicius. The French themselves referred to this delicacy as "Roman Bread" for years. French toast is popular throughout most of the world these days.