Panettone Baked French Toast

I’d almost decided to forgo our tradition of panettone French toast this year and make these panettone muffins instead, but I’ve reconsidered. This bread deserves more than just one appearance at our table this month. It’s only available to us in December, which makes it even more special to enjoy while we can.

Last week I purchased a loaf studded with candied citrus and dried cranberries. I felt it was destined for traditional French toast, until I remembered a favorite recipe for baked french toast.

This recipe is so simple and only takes about ten minutes to throw together! It’s an easy breakfast, but we also enjoyed slices topped with ice cream after dinner.

The custard mixture soaks into the bread and it hydrates the pieces of candied fruit and dried berries, which makes them fat and juicy.

I made star cut-outs from a slice of panettone that I rolled flat with a rolling pin. It’s an easy way to add a little holiday flair to this dish.

This would be a quick fix for breakfast if you have overnight guests for Christmas. I loved the cranberry-orange version but any flavor of panettone will work just fine, so use your favorite!

Panettone Baked French Toast

Heather Baird

This recipe is so simple and only takes about ten minutes to throw together! It’s an easy breakfast, but we also enjoyed slices topped with ice cream after dinner.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Equipment

• 13×9 inch baking pan

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1.6 lb. 750g panettone loaf
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup 67g granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups 720 ml whole milk
• 1 cup 240 ml heavy cream
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray (or butter dish).
• Slice panettone into 1/2-inch thick slices (6 to 8 slices). Set aside one large slice. Cut the slices down the center and place them in a single layer, slightly overlapping in the prepared pan. You may not have to use all of the slices.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt. Add the milk and heavy cream and whisk until smooth. Pour the mixture over the panettone slices, and press them down with your hands so that all the pieces are soaked with the milk mixture. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the bread has absorbed the custard, is puffed, and custard is not runny. Allow to cool until warm, about 10 minutes.
• Place the reserved panettone slice on a work surface and roll flat with a rolling pin. Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to stamp shapes from the flattened slice. If you have other leftover slices, use them for star cut-outs also. Dust the star shapes with confectioners’ sugar. Top baked French toast with star cut-outs. Dust with more powdered sugar.

Keyword bread pudding, christmas breakfast, panettone, vanilla custard

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