Can we get a holla for the challah?? Ever since we made this ridiculously amazing challah bread overnight french toast I’ve been wanting to say that! What is wrong with me? It’s okay, you can keep those comments in your own mind…it’s a loaded question, I know.
So really anything that takes 10 minutes to throw together is a huge bonus. Once you put everything together you get to wrap it up in some foil and let it sit in the fridge overnight so the liquid is able to really absorb into the bread. The next morning you pop it in the oven for 40 minutes and you will be treated with a light, fluffy, slightly sweet slice of the best french toast you’ve ever had. I must admit that we had a couple of recipe fails with this, it definitely took us a few tries to get it right. In our opinion after much trial and error we achieved the perfect combo of not overly sweet, light and moist (yes, I said moist) challah bread overnight french toast. Oh, and there’s a splash of Gran Marnier added too which is always a bonus!
Stephanie Heymann Photography
One thing to note is our recipe calls for pure maple syrup…we are talking about the real stuff, not the stuff made with high fructose corn syrup. Spend the extra money and buy 100% pure maple syrup, it’s a HUGE difference in taste and of course any chance to stay away from high fructose corn syrup is a win. Trust us on this one!
This recipe is perfect if you are entertaining and want to serve it for brunch or a family holiday, or if you’re feeding a house full of kids on a Sunday morning. It’s a nice treat and it feeds a lot of mouths! Side note but how much does this amazing drizzle photo make your mouth water? Sorta obsessed with this photo, it makes me want to just drizzle syrup over everything!!
Stephanie Heymann Photography
- 1 loaf Challah bread, cut into ½ inch slices
- ¼ C coconut oil
- ½ C pure maple syrup, plus more for serving
- 1 C milk
- 1 C half and half
- 6 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp Gran Marnier or Disaronno
- ⅓ C raisins
- In a bowl whisk coconut oil and maple syrup. Pour into a 9x13 casserole dish.
- Use the same bowl to whisk milk, half and half, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and gran marnier.
- Layer Challah bread slices in the pan over maple syrup/coconut oil. Sprinkle half of raisins over the first layer and the other half over the second layer of bread. Cover all holes by tearing bread into pieces to fill the holes. Pour egg mixture over bread, coating bread evenly. Sprinkle top with remaining raisins.
- Cover with foil and let sit overnight, the bread with soak up the milk/egg mixture.
- The next morning remove the french toast from the fridge and preheat oven to 350. Bake for 40 minutes uncovered until golden brown and puffed. Cut into squares and serve with additional maple syrup, fresh strawberries, powdered sugar, etc.