French Toast Casserole

(with Salted Frosted Flakes)

Book: Cravings

Category: Breakfast

Aldi Test*: Nope - Spiced Rum

I decided to make this the morning after hosting 4 former fraternity brothers of my husband over for drinks (aka when I made the Shake & Bake Chicken & Crispy-Coated Oven-Roasted Sweet Potato Fries). We proceeded to do a midnight taco run, experience the wine that talks to you, and stay up until 4am. I had to work the next day - these are the decisions I make in my life.

3 of them decided to crash at our place, so Saturday morning there were 4 very hungry, very hungover men in their late 20s-early 30s in my apartment. Which, is probably the perfect setting to present this dish, to be perfectly honest with you.

Prep started the night before, because this thing requires soaking the bread in rum for at least 6 hours. So, at around 1am, when I remembered that I had to start prepping, I quickly realized…. we had no rum. (WHERE HAS THE RUM GONE?)

That’s what late-night liquor stores are for, however. So, my friend and I ran out to grab some rum, and spent $90 on tacos on the way back… because…. that also seemed like a good idea at the time.

I mean, we all absolutely demolished them. Not a taco wasted.

Also, note the time and the condition I was in when I made this dish (several glasses of wine in and utterly exhausted) so I don’t have many pictures of the ingredients or the whisking of the heavy cream. However, I do have this:

Me, haggard, making sure bread properly soaks in mixture

Popped that puppy in the fridge and plopped in my bed to snooze until morning….

Alarm clock goes off and up I get to make this concoction. It’s 9am and I should have left for work an hour ago, but there is a breakfast casserole to be made, so onward I proceed.

Not a whole lot to do the morning of, which was perfect, lemme tell you. Just combing ingredients for the crust and spreading it on top of the bread mixture. I will note that mixing the frosted flakes with butter was really satisfying as I. freaking. LOVE. butter.

Recipe says 50-55 minutes, realistically it was in there for an hour and I probably could have kept it in longer to get it even crustier and toastier but the public was awaiting the dish, so alas, it remained golden.

TIP #1: Cook LONGER than directed

I mean, I would definitely check it at the 50-55 minute mark, but for me I did not have the right amount of char by then, so, check every 5 minutes or so until you reach your desired result,

Comparison Time

As stated, mine did not have the beautiful char of Chrissy’s but, I think it looks appealing none the less. Again, next time I will cook it a little longer.

HOW DID IT TASTE?

This overall seemed to be a hit with the guys. They kept marveling that it had so much flavor without actually having any syrup in it. I actually put syrup out, just in case, and no one really took any.

I enjoyed it more than I thought I would because it was not too sweet - the salt really undercut the sweetness factor. Which can be a good or bad thing depending on the person. For me, it’s great.

A large appeal of this is, honestly, the novelty/creativity of the dish. My husband gave it a 3.5 for flavor but would bump it up a bit for that alone.

Est. Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (plus 6+ hours to soak)
Actual Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (plus 6+ hours to soak)

Ease of Recipe: 4.75/5, small hit for having to have something soak for so long - it’s just a pain.

Recipe Rating: 3.75/5

Would I make it again?

I’m not a breakfast person, but next time we have people staying over (or maybe if I host the brunch I’ve always been wanting to) definitely. It’s a crowd pleaser.

This post is part of #ctjourney

Learn More

Show us your cooking adventures! Tag us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to share your own #ctjourney!

French Toast Casserole with Salted Frosted Flakes