The Sugar Plum Toast is one of my two go-to dishes for Christmas morning (the other is the Christmas Breakfast Strata). It's kind of like a cross between french toast and bread pudding - lightly sweet and oh so delicious. I prep it the night before, soak it in the fridge overnight and then pop it in the oven just before the Christmas morning chaos begins. An hour and a half later (just in time for the excitement to subside and the hunger to kick in) - you'll have a decadent breakfast ready to go. The very best part is, you won't miss any of the holiday morning fun.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Keyword bread pudding, breakfast casserole, french toast
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
Refrigerated Time 8 hourshours
Total Time 9 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Servings 8Servings (from 7"x11" dish)
Author JoElle @ A Crafty Composition
Equipment
Hand Mixer
Ingredients
INGREDIENT MEASUREMENTS FOR 7"x 11" CASSEROLE DISH
Base Ingredients for 7" x 11" Dish
8sliceschallah or brioche Bread
6x-largeeggs
1.5cupswhole milk (you may replace half of the milk with Half and Half but add 2 additional TBSP)
Ricotta Mixture for 7" x 11" Dish
¾cupsWhole milk ricotta
4ozcream cheese
1x-largeegg yolk
1TBSPmelted butter
2TBSPconfectioners (powdered) sugar
1tspvanilla extract
¼tspsalt
2tspfresh lemon zest
Fruit for 7" x 11" Dish
1cupfresh blueberries or blackberries
Spices for 7" x 11" Dish
¼ tspground nutmeg (for egg/milk mixture)
INGREDIENT MEASUREMENTS FOR 9"x 13" DISH
Base Ingredients for 9" x 13" Dish
14-15 sliceschallah or brioche bread
10x-largeeggs
3cupswhole milk (you may replace half of the milk with Half and Half but add an additional 2 TBSPs))
Ricotta Mixture for 9"x 13" Dish
1cupwhole milk ricotta
6ozcream cheese
1x-largeegg yolk
2TBSPmelted butter
3TBSPconfectioner's (powdered) sugar
1½tspvanilla extract
½tspsalt
1TBSPfresh lemon zest
Fruit for 9" x 11" Dish
1½cupsfresh blueberries or blackberries
Spices for 9" x 11" Dish
½tspground nutmeg (for egg/milk mixture)
Cinnamon Honey Drizzle
1/4cuphoney
¼ to ½tspground cinnamon
Instructions
Base Ingredients
Whisk the eggs, milk and ground nutmeg in a medium-sized bowl and set aside
Preparing the Bread
Preheat the oven to 250°. Lay your bread slices directly on the oven rack and dry them out for about 12-15 minutes. This can be also be done with a toaster set on a medium-low setting.
Tear or cut each slice of bread into 4 pieces
Ricotta Mixture
Blend the ricotta, cream cheese, butter and vanilla with a hand mixer on low speed until smooth
Add the egg yolk and salt. Mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes
fold in the lemon zest and stir.
Fruit
Wash and dry the blueberries or blackberries
Constructing the Sugar Plum Toast
Using a non-stick spray or butter, lightly grease the bottom and sides of a casserole dish
Line the bottom of the dish with half of the bread pieces
Drop tsp sized dollops of the ricotta mixture over the toast. Don't spread it out - keep it in dollops.
Divide the blueberries/blackberries in half, putting aside one half for the morning. Sprinkle the other half over the first layer of bread and ricotta.
Pour half of the egg/milk mixture over the bread/ricotta/berries. Use the end of a spoon to gently push the berries down into the mixture.
Spread the remaining bread pieces over the first layer
Add the remaining egg/milk mixture and gently push everything down with a spatula.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight (7-10 hours)
Baking the Sugar Plum Toast
Remove the dish from the fridge and take off the plastic wrap
Preheat the oven to 350°
Sprinkle the remaining blueberries/blackberries over the top of the casserole. Use the end of a spoon to gently poke the berries down a little. Optional: you may sprinkle a little course (turbinado) sugar over the casserole if you wish)
Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Set the casserole dish on the cookie sheet for baking. Move your oven racks so that the Sugar Plum Toast can sit on the middle oven rack and have at least 4" of clearance ABOVE THE TOP of the casserole dish.
Bake. 70 minutes for 7" x 9" dish and about 80 minutes for 9" x 13". The casserole should not jiggle much when moving the dish back and forth. Let sit for 15 minutes
Cinnamon Honey Drizzle
While the Sugar Plum Toast is cooling, add a ½ tsp water to the honey. Warm it on low heat in the microwave. Add the cinnamon and stir until thoroughly mixed.
Serve by cutting a square of Sugar Plum Toast and drizzling the cinnamon honey over the top.