Caramel Cream Cheese French Toast (Printer View)

Golden layers of brioche soaked in custard with cream cheese dollops and caramel sauce, baked until puffy and set.

# What you'll need:

→ Bread & Dairy

01 - 1 loaf brioche or challah bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (approximately 18 oz)
02 - 8 oz cream cheese, softened
03 - 6 large eggs
04 - 1½ cups whole milk
05 - ½ cup heavy cream
06 - ½ cup granulated sugar
07 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
08 - ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
09 - Pinch of salt

→ Caramel Sauce

10 - 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
11 - ½ cup unsalted butter
12 - ¼ cup heavy cream

→ Topping

13 - 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
14 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

# Method:

01 - In a saucepan over medium heat, melt brown sugar and butter, stirring constantly until smooth and bubbling, approximately 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream until fully combined. Pour the caramel sauce into the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.
02 - Arrange half of the bread cubes evenly over the caramel layer. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Drop spoonfuls of cream cheese over the bread layer, spreading gently but leaving some dollops. Top with remaining bread cubes.
03 - In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, heavy cream, granulated sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Pour evenly over the bread and cream cheese layers, pressing gently to soak.
04 - Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or at least 6 hours, to allow the bread to absorb the custard.
05 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove casserole from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
06 - In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the casserole.
07 - Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes, or until puffed, golden, and set in the center. If browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
08 - Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm, optionally with extra caramel sauce or fresh berries.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Most of the work happens the evening before, so your actual brunch morning feels almost leisurely.
  • The caramel bakes into the bread from underneath, creating this butterscotch quality that tastes far more complicated than it actually is.
  • Feeding a crowd becomes simple because it bakes in one dish and arrives at the table looking stunning without any plating fuss.
02 -
  • The overnight chilling is not a suggestion—bread that sits in custard for 6+ hours becomes creamy and cohesive, while rushing this step leaves you with bread chunks swimming in soggy egg.
  • Letting the assembled casserole come to room temperature before baking prevents a cold center with overdone edges; it sounds fussy but truly makes the difference between great and mediocre.
  • Stale or day-old bread is genuinely better here because it has less moisture to begin with and absorbs the custard more evenly than fresh bread.
03 -
  • Make the caramel sauce the day before if you want to reduce morning prep to literally just pulling the casserole from the fridge and sprinkling the cinnamon sugar.
  • If you're feeding people with dairy sensitivities, you can substitute half-and-half for heavy cream and still get a delicious result, just slightly less rich.
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