Overnight Eggnog French Toast

3.2 from 5 ratings

This deliciously decadent recipe is perfect for entertaining. Plus, it uses a signature bourbon brown sugar sauce that will make your brunch guests weep with joy.

Servings

servings

Ingredients

2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 to 8 tablespoons bourbon (3 to 4 ounces)
2 cups pecans, chopped
1 loaf italian bread, cut into 1 inch thick slices (or bread of your choice)
8 eggs
1 cup eggnog
2 cups of my bourbon and brown sugar sauce
dash of ground cinnamon
dash of ground nutmeg

Directions

In a medium saucepan, add melted butter, cream, and brown sugar. Stir together. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook until sugar granules are melted and sauce becomes smooth. Remove from heat and add in vanilla, bourbon, and pecans, blending all ingredients together.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Set aside. Pour half of bourbon and brown sugar sauce over the bottom of baking dish. After you’ve cut bread into 1-inch slices, place the slices over the sauce in the baking dish, so it resembles the original loaf. If you have extra bread, just cut into smaller pieces (small, square chunks) and place between edges of dish and bread or on top of loaf. Pour other half of bourbon and brown sugar sauce over the bread and in between slices. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and eggnog. Slowly pour egg mixture over bread in baking dish. Separate the pieces slightly as you pour over the top, so the mixture can be soaked up by all of the bread. *Be careful when pouring over the top of the bread: if you have low edges, egg mixture might run out of dish. Not that it happened to me or anything, I’m just sayin' the mixture will follow the eggs.* If it does, hopefully you have it placed on a counter that you can just wipe it all into a bowl and pour again, carefully this time {chuckle}.
Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the top to your liking. Cover dish with aluminum foil (because you’re going to be baking it covered) and place in refrigerator overnight, or for at least 8 hours. In the morning, preheat oven to 325 degrees F . Remove dish from refrigerator and, leaving foil on, place into oven for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, increase oven temperature to 375 degrees F, remove foil from dish, and continue to cook for about 20—45 minutes, depending on your oven. You want it to crisp some of the bread and cook all the eggs. Make sure you check the bottom and middle before serving to make sure all the eggs have been cooked. You don’t want the egg mixture runny. There should be a clear brown liquid on the bottom of the dish from the bourbon and brown sugar sauce. After removing dish from oven, let sit for 5 minutes.
Can be served with powdered sugar sprinkled over the top, warmed eggnog poured over the top, maple syrup, butter, or fresh fruit.