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citrus custard French toast casserole
Lauren Eliza Eats

Citrus Custard French Toast Casserole

Citrus Custard French Toast Casserole that's bright, rich, sweet. Start with a citrus-infused French toast base to make until golden brown. And make the custard made with fresh orange and lemon juice, and zest. Perfect for weekend brunch parties or an at-home feast!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Rest Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

French Toast Base
  • 1½ sleeves French toast bread (or use Brioche or Challah)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups milk of choice
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 orange zested and juiced
Citrus Custard
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 3 egg yolks
  • ¼ cup sugar (I used coconut sugar)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 orange zested and juiced (separated)
  • 2 lemon zested and juiced (separated)

Method
 

Make French toast casserole
  1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease or butter a baking dish or casserole dish.
  2. Cube French toast bread, brioche, or challah. Add bread cubes evenly to the dish.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, heavy cream, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and orange zest.
  4. Whisk until smooth and pour liquid evenly over cubed bread.
  5. Stir bread with mixture and gently press down bread so everything gets soaked.
  6. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.
  7. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes, until puffed, golden, and set in the center.
Prepare citrus custard (READ CAREFULLY)
  1. In a medium sauce pan, heat the milk, heavy cream, lemon, and orange zest on low heat. Heat until steam is coming from liquid and hot enough to touch liquid without burning yourself. Do not let liquid boil! If liquid is too hot, let sit at room temperature until cool enough to hold your finger in.
  2. In a small metal bowl, add the 3 egg yolks, sugar, and pinch of salt.
  3. Whisk egg yolks and sugar vigorously until pale and smooth (4-5 minutes).
  4. Once milk mixture is at a warm temperature, but not hot, slowly ladle a small amount of milk mixture egg yolk mixture while whisking fast.
  5. This is tempering the eggs, you want the milk mixture to not be too hot so it does not scramble the egg yolks. You want to quickly whisk the egg yolk mixture while adding the warm milk to emulsify it.
  6. Once you add 1-2 ladles of warm milk to your eggs and whisk well, the egg yolk mixture should be smooth.
  7. Slowly add egg yolk mixture to the sauce pan with the remaining warm milk mixture.
  8. Heat saucepan on low and stir for 5-7 minutes while custard thickens up. The consistency should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and hold its shape if you swipe your finger on the spoon.
  9. Remove the custard from the heat, and stir in the orange juice and lemon juice.
  10. Let the custard cool on in room temperature or if you want it thicker, move it to a container and refrigerate it.
Serve casserole
  1. Serve French toast casserole warm with dollops of citrus custard. Garnish with powdered sugar and citrus zest.