How to Make French Toast for a Crowd

You really shouldn’t be surprised that I have another breakfast dessert. After all breakfast is the meal of champions right? Following that logic I’ve whipped up a sweet hand-to-mouth breakfast exercise that will build your biceps and get your day started right with some sweet goodness.

But let’s clear something up first — that’s no muffin. That, my culinary enthusiast, is an Apple Walnut French Toast served in a cupcake liner with a walnut and graham cracker streusel.

My idea was to make French toast for a large group without running two or three pans and trying to time it so everyone is served in unison. Now of course you can opt for a large French toast casserole, but the problem I have with those is the center is always soggy — and well, that’s no good. So I decided to scale things down for more even baking.

Result: Loveliness between the pleats. (I know — it’s a recurring theme for me). No soggy mess and pretty much no leftovers.

Small note – Almost any bread will do for this recipe. You can use a plain loaf like an Italian or French bread type or a flavored one like I did. For this recipe I used an Apple Walnut bread from one of my favorite local bakeries. Alternatively, if you use plain bread, a quick flavor adjustment can be made by using a flavored dairy creamer instead of regular milk or cream.

Apple Walnut French Toast

6 cups of cubed bread,  ½ inch in size

5 large eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup Cinnamon Vanilla flavored 100% dairy creamer *

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup Walnut Graham Cracker Streusel (recipe to follow)

Instructions:

Cube bread and set aside. Place remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk until all the eggs are broken and everything is well combined. Toss bread cubes in mixture.  Spoon French toast mixture into cupcake liners and sprinkle streusel on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least an hour. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out dry

Walnut Graham Cracker Streusel

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

6 graham crackers, crumbed

¼ cup walnuts, chopped

2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions:

Melt butter, set aside. Place remaining ingredients in a food processor and process until crumbed. Add melted butter and pulse in 3 second bursts until combined.

*Use a 100% dairy creamer. This can generally be found next to non dairy creamers like Coffee Mate.