Panettone oven-baked French toast with eggnog custard comes from food writer and expert Diane Rossen Worthington of Seriously Simple. This make-ahead dish makes for a festive holiday brunch or dessert.
It’s rich, it’s festive and it is perfect for holiday brunches. Whether you call this oven-baked French toast or bread pudding, the method is still the same: Dried out bread is soaked in custard and then baked.
Panettone is a tall, domed shape bread that is sweet and studded with candied fruits. This soft, sweet bread hails from Northern Italy and is prized during the Christmas holidays. When I had quite a bit leftover one holiday season, I decided to use it for a spectacular oven-baked French toast. Drying it out and using it as the base of this bread pudding is a wonderful way to experience its deliciousness. It was hit! And while this a wonderful breakfast/brunch dish, it is equally satisfying as dessert.
This French toast-pudding needs to be started a day ahead to let the bread cubes dry out. The oven-baked French toast is a wonderful Christmas morning entree, since it is all prepared the night before and just put in the oven before serving. I like to serve this with grilled sausages or crispy bacon. Include a pitcher of mixed orange and grapefruit juice with a touch of Pomegranate juice to round out the celebration breakfast. A splash of sparkling wine added to the juices elevates this menu into a celebratory occasion.
Panettone Oven-Baked French Toast Pudding with Eggnog Custard
Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2-pound box Panettone, cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes, about 8 cups
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup baking sugar
- 4 cups eggnog
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning
- Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- Powdered sugar, for garnish
Directions:
- Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet a day before preparing the pudding and let rest on the counter overnight or until the bread cubes are dried out.
- Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange the bread in the dish.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed until they are frothy. Add the sugar and beat the mixture until thick and a light lemon color, about 3 minutes. Add the eggnog, reducing the speed to low, and mix to combine. Add the vanilla, pumpkin pie seasoning and nutmeg, and mix to combine.
- Ladle the custard over the bread. (You may need to use your fingers to evenly distribute the ingredients.) Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
- The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and remove foil and push the bread down with a wooden spoon to make sure the custard is evenly distributed. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Place the pudding in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Open the oven, using heavy oven mitts and with a large spoon, push the bread down. The remaining liquid custard will rise. Spoon the custard evenly over the bread slices. Bake for about 15 to 20 more minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out barely clean. Sprinkle the hot oven-baked French toast with powdered sugar.
Advance preparation: The oven-baked French toast may be prepared up to one day ahead through Step 4, covered and refrigerated. Remove from the refrigerator 1/2 hour before baking.
© 2021 Diane Rossen Worthington. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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