Mothers Day Strawberry French Toast (Printable)

Layers of brioche and strawberries baked with creamy custard for a festive brunch treat.

# What you'll need:

→ Bread & Fruit

01 - 1 loaf brioche or challah bread (about 16 oz), cut into 1-inch cubes
02 - 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

→ Custard

03 - 6 large eggs
04 - 2 cups whole milk
05 - 1 cup heavy cream
06 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
07 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
08 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
09 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

→ Topping

10 - 1/3 cup sliced almonds
11 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
12 - 2 tablespoons turbinado or coarse sugar

→ To Serve

13 - Powdered sugar for dusting
14 - Maple syrup

# Method:

01 - Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter or nonstick spray.
02 - Arrange half of the bread cubes in the dish. Evenly scatter half of the sliced strawberries over the bread. Top with the remaining bread and then the rest of the strawberries.
03 - In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt until well combined.
04 - Pour the custard evenly over the bread and strawberries, pressing down gently to help the bread absorb the liquid.
05 - Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight for best results.
06 - Preheat the oven to 350°F.
07 - Sprinkle the top with sliced almonds and turbinado sugar. Drizzle with melted butter.
08 - Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown and set in the center. If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
09 - Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • You can build it the night before, which means you're actually relaxed when guests arrive instead of standing over a skillet in your pajamas.
  • The brioche soaks up all that creamy custard and strawberry juice, becoming tender and almost custardy inside with crispy, buttery edges.
  • It feeds a crowd beautifully—eight generous servings from one baking dish—making it perfect for impressing people without tripling your effort.
02 -
  • If you skip the overnight chilling, the bread will have wet spots and dry spots instead of an even, custardy texture throughout—the waiting is actually crucial, not optional.
  • The custard will look liquid when you pour it in, which feels wrong, but that's exactly the point; the bread needs that moisture to transform into something creamy and luscious.
03 -
  • Toast your almonds in a dry pan for two minutes before sprinkling them on top—it's a small step that elevates them from soft to genuinely delicious and adds a toasted flavor that brightens the whole dish.
  • If your baking dish is ceramic or glass, it will brown faster than metal, so start checking at 35 minutes rather than waiting until 40.
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