Baked Croissant French Toast With Blueberries

Baked Croissant French Toast With Blueberries

Simple to prepare but worthy of a celebration, this French toast starts with a base of buttery croissants and is studded with juicy blueberries. Cut into bite-size pieces, the flaky pastries are soaked in a rich custard and assembled in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; the casserole can be prepared and baked in the same morning or assembled ahead of time and baked the next day. Sweetened with maple syrup and spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and hints of vanilla, this is a perfect dish for a special occasion or to simply feed a brunch crowd. Frozen blueberries add sweet and tart flavors to this dish, but you can easily swap in other frozen or fresh fruit such as raspberries, strawberries or bananas.

Yield: 8 servings

3 tablespoons butter (preferably salted), melted 

7 large eggs

1 ½ cups/350 milliliters whole milk

¾ cup/175 milliliters maple syrup (preferably dark), plus more for serving

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

5 large croissants (about 14 ounces total), torn or cut into bite-size pieces

1½ cups/11 ounces frozen blueberries 

Grease the inside of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with the melted butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Add the croissant pieces to the egg-milk mixture and mix together until coated. Fold in the blueberries.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and while the oven is heating, allow the croissants to soak in the egg-milk mixture for 20 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish. (If preparing in advance, cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight. Remove from the fridge and allow it to reach room temperature. Uncover and bake as instructed.)

Bake for 30 minutes, until the casserole has puffed, the top is golden brown and the custard is no longer runny.

Serve straight from the baking dish, passing additional maple syrup for drizzling on top.

TIP: I made this for my son and daughter in law the week they had a new baby. Their comments were “insanely good” and “five stars.” I used fresh blueberries, four croissants from Trader Joe’s and five eggs, and backed everything else down by a third, except the maple syrup, which I cut in half. I soaked overnight and baked it in a small Dutch oven in the morning. Smash hit!