Blueberry Stuffed Brioche French Toast Bake

This Blueberry Stuffed Brioche French Toast Bake is one of those breakfasts that looks like you worked a whole lot harder than you actually did! Soft brioche, a lightly sweetened cream cheese layer loaded with blueberries, and a rich vanilla-cinnamon custard are put together the night before. Pop it in the oven the next morning for an easy farmhouse breakfast that’s perfect for weekends, holidays, or overnight company.

Blueberry Stuffed Brioche French Toast Bake

Makes one 8×8-inch pan | About 6 servings

Ingredients

For the French toast:

• 6–7 cups brioche bread, cut into about 1-inch cubes (find recipe here)
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla, divided
• 1½ cups fresh blueberries, divided
• 4 large eggs
• 1¼ cups milk
• ¼ cup heavy cream or half-and-half
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

For serving:

• Powdered sugar
• Warm maple syrup
• Extra fresh blueberries, if desired

Directions

1. Lightly butter or spray an 8×8-inch baking dish.
2. Place about half of the brioche cubes in the bottom of the dish.
3. In a small bowl, mix the softened cream cheese with the sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla until creamy. Gently stir in about 1 cup of the blueberries.
4. Spoon little dollops of the blueberry cream cheese mixture over the brioche. Don't worry about spreading it perfectly — those pockets of cream cheese are what make it good.

1. Add the remaining brioche cubes and scatter the remaining ½ cup blueberries over the top.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, melted butter, and remaining ½ teaspoon vanilla.
3. Slowly pour the custard evenly over the bread. Gently press the bread down so it can soak up the custard.
4. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
5. The next morning, remove the dish from the refrigerator while the oven preheats to 350°F.
6. Bake uncovered for about 40–50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the center is set. If the top starts getting too brown before the middle is done, loosely cover it with foil.
7. Let it rest for 5–10 minutes before serving.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with maple syrup and extra blueberries.

My FarmHouse Kitchen note: Slightly stale brioche is actually perfect for this because it soaks up all that custard without becoming mushy. If your brioche is really fresh, cube it and leave it uncovered for a few hours before assembling the casserole.