A brunch casserole built on eggnog: day-old brioche soaked in a spiced custard, topped with streusel and baked until the middle just sets.
It can be assembled the night before and slid into the oven in the morning, which is most of the reason to make it rather than french toast in a pan.
Why This Recipe Works
- Eggnog is already a custard base — eggs, cream, sugar and nutmeg — so using two cups of it means the recipe needs less of everything else to reach a proper set.
- Brioche or challah are enriched breads with enough structure to soak up three cups of liquid without disintegrating. A plain sandwich loaf would turn to mush.
- Baking covered first and uncovered second separates two jobs that fight each other: setting a deep custard needs gentle even heat, and browning a streusel needs dry direct heat.
- 175 to 180°F is where an egg custard is set but not curdled. Baking to a look rather than a temperature is how these end up either wet in the middle or rubbery at the edges.
Soak, Then Two Bakes
A bread custard has two competing requirements — the middle has to set and the top has to brown — and they want different oven conditions. This recipe solves it by baking twice under different covers.
Stage 1 of 4
Soak, briefly or overnight
Steps 1–3 of 7
Custard poured over the cubes, tossed gently, then pressed down so every cube is moistened. Ten minutes is the minimum and overnight in the fridge is the alternative — both work, and the overnight version is why this is a brunch recipe.
- Prepare the dishGrease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter and add the bread cubes in an even layer.
- Make the custardWhisk the eggnog, milk, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together until smooth.
- SoakPour the custard evenly over the bread. Toss gently to coat and press down so all the cubes are moistened. Rest 10 minutes, or cover and refrigerate overnight.
Stage 2 of 4
Streusel, made cold
Steps 4–4 of 7
Flour, brown sugar and cinnamon with cold butter cut in to pea-sized crumbs. Cold butter is the whole technique — it melts during the bake and leaves the crumb structure behind, where softened butter would make a paste.
- Make the streuselCombine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter until pea-sized crumbs form, then stir in the nuts if using.
Stage 3 of 4
Covered, 25 minutes
Steps 5–5 of 7
Melted butter drizzled over, streusel on, then foil. The foil traps steam so the custard sets through the depth of the dish without the streusel colouring at all.
- Bake coveredHeat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Drizzle the melted butter over the casserole, sprinkle over the streusel, cover with foil and bake 25 minutes.
Stage 4 of 4
Uncovered, 20 to 25 more
Steps 6–7 of 7
Foil off, until puffed with golden edges and a centre that reads 175–180°F. This is the browning half. Ten minutes of cooling before serving, because a custard straight from the oven has not finished setting.
- Bake uncoveredRemove the foil and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until puffed, the edges are golden and the centre is just set at 175–180°F.
- Rest and serveCool 10 minutes, dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with maple syrup and whipped cream.
Ingredient Notes
- Day-old brioche or challah
- A pound, about 10 cups cubed. Day-old is in the ingredient line and it is structural — fresh bread cannot take this much custard.
- Eggnog, well-shaken
- Two cups. Eggnog separates in the carton, and the solids that settle are exactly the part doing the enriching.
- Cold butter, for the streusel
- Four tablespoons, cubed and cold — distinct from the 3 tablespoons melted for drizzling. Two butter lines doing opposite things.
- Nutmeg
- Half a teaspoon, freshly grated if you can. Eggnog is already nutmeg-forward and this reinforces it rather than introducing it.
How to Make It
Prepare the dish
Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter and add the bread cubes in an even layer.
Make the custard
Whisk the eggnog, milk, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together until smooth.
Soak
Pour the custard evenly over the bread. Toss gently to coat and press down so all the cubes are moistened. Rest 10 minutes, or cover and refrigerate overnight.
Make the streusel
Combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter until pea-sized crumbs form, then stir in the nuts if using.
Bake covered
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Drizzle the melted butter over the casserole, sprinkle over the streusel, cover with foil and bake 25 minutes.
Bake uncovered
Remove the foil and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until puffed, the edges are golden and the centre is just set at 175–180°F.
Rest and serve
Cool 10 minutes, dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with maple syrup and whipped cream.
Success Tips
- Press the cubes down so everything is wet. Dry corners stay dry through the bake.
- Keep the streusel butter cold and cut it in rather than rubbing it warm.
- Bake covered first. Skipping the foil browns the top before the middle sets.
- Check 175–180°F at the centre rather than judging by the surface.
Serving Ideas
Powdered sugar, maple syrup and whipped cream. Maple syrup against eggnog custard is the pairing worth keeping if you only put out one.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Refrigerate up to 3 days, covered. The streusel softens after the first day, which reheating partly recovers.
Freeze
Freeze baked portions up to 2 months. Assembling and freezing unbaked works less well here than in a savoury casserole — the bread continues absorbing while it freezes.
Reheat
Covered in a 325°F oven until warm, uncovering for the last few minutes to crisp the streusel back up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I soak it overnight?
It is the better option if you are serving it for breakfast, and it is built into the recipe. An overnight soak also gives a more uniformly custardy result, since every cube has had time to absorb rather than only the ones on top.
Can I make it without eggnog?
You would be making a different recipe. Eggnog is supplying eggs, cream, sugar and spice all at once — replacing it means rebuilding the custard from those parts, and the balance of the remaining six eggs and third of a cup of sugar assumes the eggnog is there.
The middle was still wet.
Either it came out early or the dish was deeper than a 9x13. The temperature check exists for this — 175 to 180°F at the centre is the answer, and the surface looks done well before the middle gets there. Cover it again with foil and keep baking.
