Description
This gooey butter french toast can be made the night before so when you wake up you can easily enjoy a decadent brunch. Inspired by my strong love of french toast and gooey butter cake (from St. Louis, like me!). This makes a large panful of soft challah bread in a simple bath of cream and egg, topped with a magical mixture that’s gooey yet crisp.
Ingredients
- FOR THE FRENCH TOAST:
- 1 loaf Challah Bread
- 5 Large Eggs
- 1 cup Half-and-half
- ½ cups Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- FOR THE GOOEY BUTTER TOPPING:
- 1-½ stick Butter, Softened
- 1-½ cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ teaspoons Salt
- ¼ cups Light Corn Syrup
- 2 Large Eggs, At Room Temperature
- 1-½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cups Milk
- 1 cup Cake Flour
- Powdered Sugar, For Dusting
Preparation
For the french toast:
Spray a 9x13inch baking pan with cooking spray. Cut bread loaf into 1-inch slices and arrange them in the pan slightly overlapping if necessary to fit.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs just until they break up. Whisk in half-and-half, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon until combined. Pour mixture over bread slices.
For the gooey butter topping:
Combine butter, sugar, salt, and corn syrup in the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
On medium low speed, add 1 egg and mix until combined. Then mix in remaining egg and vanilla extract.
Add milk and cake flour and mix on low speed to combine. Scrape down the bowl and give it a final stir.
Dollop the butter topping over the bread and smooth out. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake for 40–50 minutes until bread has puffed slightly and gooey butter topping has started to brown around the edges and is a light golden brown. You can check under the topping and around the side to make sure topping and filling has thickened up, but it won’t be completely firmed up since you want it to be gooey!
Dust lightly with powdered sugar, and serve. Serve with something savory if this seems too intensely sweet for some eaters..
