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Well, now I’ve gone and done it: I’ve taken brunch up about a million notches. Tres Leches French Toast Casserole should be the ONLY french toast you ever eat again!
Easy French Toast Casserole
Can you believe that, until about six months ago, I’d never had tres leches cake? I know, right? A dessert blogger never having eaten this classic cake? It was unbelievable. If I’m being 100% honest, before I tasted it I didn’t even know what the “three milks” were that made up the cake (tres leches translates to 3 milks) and I’d never even had the urge to try it, let alone make it.
Again, I hang my head in dessert blogger shame. Will you forgive me?
So anyway, last April I went with a few fellow food blogger BFFs (Averie and Holly) to Santa Monica. We ate at a trendy Mexican restaurant the first night and ordered tres leches for dessert. I liked the cake, but we all agreed that there was not even close to enough sauce on top. I loved the flavors however and added the cake to my mental list of things to make in the future.
But, you know me. I can never just make tres leches cake. I had to turn it into something even better: breakfast. Instead of cake, I made tres leches FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE.
Oh, yes I did.
Ingredients in Tres Leches Casserole
Now, tres leches is traditionally made of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream. I decided to change it up a little and use sweetened condensed milk, regular milk, and International Delight French Vanilla Coffee Creamer. Why? Because I could, obviously, and because I could live on coffee creamer. It’s already in my fridge, so why not??
…THEN I added vanilla bean paste to the mix…and it made the sweetest most vanilla elixir of the tres leches gods you’ll ever taste.
I went with making a french toast casserole because I like baking it better than I like frying it. It’s easier and takes less active time. I mixed up the milks and then divided the mixture so I could use some to soak the bread in and some to pour over the top of the casserole after baking, like you do with a traditional tres leches cake.
While we’re at it, let’s talk about bread. I used challah bread because it’s oh-so-good. You can use any bread you like, but just make sure it’s a little stale. Using freshly baked bread will make this soggy.
How to make Tres Leches French Toast
You dip the bread slices and then bake the casserole…and then you drench it in more tres leches sauce.
In other words, you create heaven.
You don’t need syrup for this french toast…just add a little whipped cream and some fresh berries. We actually ate this for dessert because it was so rich and heavenly, but I won’t judge you if you eat it for brunch!
Tres Leches French Toast Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Challah Bread or other similar loaf, about 18 ounces
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup International Delight French Vanilla Creamer or any flavor
- 1 can 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice bread into 1” thick slices. You can leave them long or cut them in half, whichever you prefer. Spray a 2 Qt baking dish or a 9×13” pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk milk, creamer, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla in a large measuring cup or bowl. The mixture will make about 4 cups. Reserve 1 3/4 cups of the milk mixture. Pour the rest into a bowl and add the eggs. Whisk until the eggs are combined into the milk.
- Dip each slice of bread in the egg mixture and place in pan. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the mixture is hot and the bread is slightly more golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes.
- Heat remaining milk mixture for about 30 seconds in the microwave, just until it’s warm (you don’t want to add the cold milk to the french toast or it’ll cool it off). Pour the warmed milk mixture evenly over the top of the french toast. Serve warm, with whipped cream and fresh berries. It’s also good room temperature or cold, straight from the fridge. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Recipe Nutrition
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Chocolate Croissant French Toast
This was a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight in 2016. The opinions and text are all mine.
Holy yum! ย Now that’s what I call a decadent breakfast! ย Love that you turned cake into french toast! ย And I always have ID coffee creamer in my fridge too! ย It’s the best!
I think about our trip ALL the time! Thanks for the shoutout ๐ and you know I am passionate about tres leches cake! With plenty of sauce! lol
This French toast…yes this.is.brunch.omg. I would go nuts for this! Great way to work in the I.D. and the challah bread, swoon!
It was all I could do not to just drink that milk mixture…
I just came back from Mexico and anything tres leches is on my mind! I can just imagine how sweet and milky this casserole is ๐
You definitely took brunch to a whole new level! Love this flavor, Dorothy! I have a feeling I would never go back to the regular kind. So perfect for a weekend breakfast!
Okay, time to hang my head in shame. I’ve never had tres leches cake. Never. It’s not chocolate, and that’s probably why. But you’ve really talked me into it, especially with this casserole and its delightful vanilla flecks. I love French toast casserole!
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