Baked Tiramisu French Toast Casserole | www.floatingkitchen.net

Baked Tiramisu French Toast Casserole

This post was originally published here February 8, 2015. I’ve since adjusted the recipe slightly and updated the text and photographs to reflect those changes.

Valentine’s Day is a day that people love to hate. I’ve gone back and forth on my own opinions about this day over the years. But now I’m pretty content with it. It doesn’t bother me, per se. And it’s a chance to enjoy all my favorite chocolates and make cute heart-shaped foods. So that’s good enough for me!

I always associate Valentine’s Day with brunch foods. So I retrieved this Baked Tiramisu French Toast Casserole from the archives and gave it a facelift. It’s unabashed over-the-top-ness is right on par for this Holiday!

Baked Tiramisu French Toast Casserole | www.floatingkitchen.net

If you’ve ever made a sandwich before (I’m sure you have!), then making this Baked Tiramisu French Toast Casserole isn’t going to be that much of a stretch for you. Because that’s basically half of the work that we’re doing here. You’re going to fill two slices of challah or brioche bread with a combination of mascarpone cheese and melted chocolate. And then you’re going to dip those “sandwiches” in an egg mixture flavored with a little bit of espresso powder before shingling them all into a baking dish. No big deal at all.

Are you catching the tiramisu theme now? Mascarpone + chocolate + espresso = YUM!

Baked Tiramisu French Toast Casserole | www.floatingkitchen.net

The parts of the casserole where the bread is mostly submerged in the egg mixture turn out kind of custard-like. While the parts that are more exposed get a nice little crust on the outside. Gah. It’s the best of both worlds. And the filling stays perfectly ooey and gooey. If you’ve got a sweet tooth in the morning, then this recipe is definitely for you!

I like to make this Baked Tiramisu French Toast Casserole even more decadent by covering it with powdered sugar, cocoa powder, maple syrup and fresh berries before serving. A dollop of whipped cream is also a good decision. Basically, I’m giving you permission to add ALL THE THINGS. And then some.

Hope you all have a lovely Valentine’s Day! XOXO!

Cheers,

Liz

Baked Tiramisu French Toast Casserole

Baked Tiramisu French Toast Casserole

At a Glance:
Yield: Serves 4-6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients

For the French Toast:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. instant espresso powder
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
  • 6 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened at room temperature
  • 12 slices day-old challah or brioche bread

For Serving:

  • Cocoa powder
  • Powdered sugar
  • Maple syrup
  • Fresh berries

Instructions

  1. Lightly coat a baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and set it aside. 
  2. Whisk together the eggs, milk, half and half, sugar, espresso powder and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour this mixture into a shallow pan and set aside.
  3. Gently warm the chopped chocolate, either in your microwave or on your stove-top, until it’s fully melted. Add the mascarpone cheese and stir until the mixture is smooth. 
  4. Lay out 6 of the bread slices and divide the chocolate/mascarpone mixture evenly between the slices, spreading it out over each slice. Place the remaining 6 slices of bread on top (as if you’re making a sandwich).
  5. Working with one “sandwich” at a time, dunk it in the egg mixture and flip it so both sides get well moistened. Then place it in your prepared baking pan. Repeat this process with the remaining sandwiches, overlapping them slightly as necessary to fit into your baking pan. Slowly pour the remaining egg mixture over top. Then cover the baking pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours. 
  6. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Remove the baking pan from your refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature while your oven pre-heats. Then transfer it to your pre-heated oven and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake the French toast for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for about 5 minutes.
  7. Sprinkle the French toast with cocoa powder and/or powdered sugar. Serve warm with maple syrup and fresh berries, if desired.

66 comments on “Baked Tiramisu French Toast Casserole”

  1. Amazing looking dessert! We can already imagine the smells

    • Yeah, it probably totally qualifies as dessert. Although I like to eat it for breakfast! Let me know if you try it out!

  2. Yum! This is the kind of breakfast I need to be having every day 🙂 So indulgent I love it!

  3. I totally agree! Small tokens of affection are so much more personal! I love how simple but decadent this French Toast is! Seriously love.

  4. I love Minted and I LOVE this French toast bake. What a great idea to make a breakfast tiramisu!

  5. So I know this is a breakfast food, but I think I could eat it for dessert instead!

  6. Omg my favorite dessert for breakfast?!! I am so going to be making this this coming weekend!!

  7. Drooling over this right now, Liz! I can’t imagine a better way to start off V-day!

  8. This might be seriously cliche, but all I want on VDay is a box of good chocolate and some cuddles. Okay, fine, and a pan of this tiramisu bread pudding wouldn’t hurt!!

  9. I love bread pudding and tiramisu, so I must try this one soon! A perfect Valentine’s breakfast treat 🙂

  10. Wow this french toast is gorgeous, Liz! I love the tiramisu flavor, so perfect! And I’m loving that you created a Valentine’s Day breakfast dish. This sounds like the perfect size for just two people!

  11. This sounds SO amazing!!!! I want to make this ASAP … and then eat all of it …. by myself. 😐

  12. Wow, this looks amazing! I love the idea of baked tiramisu. Love those little anchor cards too, so cute!

  13. haha, yes!! let that romantic flag fly girl! 🙂 love this baked tiramisu french toast .. what a great idea!! And I love Minted. I have some of their thank you cards and stationary .. love it! And getting engaged on Valentine’s Day? How romantic would that be?!

    • It would be very romantic! But I think you have to have a boyfriend before you can get engaged. At least this is what I’ve been told. Ha ha ha! XO

  14. If I could coerce someone into feeding me Baked Tiramisu French Toast in bed, my life would be complete 😉 This sounds like the perfect breakfast for two love birds to share. Headed over to check out all the Minted items now 😀

  15. I’m totally with you about celebrating the smaller things on Valentine’s Day. LOVE that whiskey print! And oh my, yum! Baked Tiramisu French Toast??

    • Isn’t that whiskey print great? It’s really fun. Guys can be hard to shop for on these holidays. But that print hits it out of the park!

  16. Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts – nice work giving me an excuse to eat it for breakfast!! 😉

  17. WOW! This looks amazing!! What a great recipe! I love how you added chocolate! 🙂 YUM!

  18. I really love tiramisu, and I’m glad this is the same great flavor combo with no labor involved! This would be a wonderful breakfast for Valentine’s Day!

  19. I LOVE Minted — and this French Toast is a stroke of genius!!

  20. Dang girl! This is one perfect way to start the day. I wouldn’t want this to end!

  21. This look SO delicious! I love tiramisu, but never have the time/energy to make it. Definitely trying this out!
    Trish

  22. You are speaking my language with this delicious breakfast! Although, I may have to make it for lunch and dinner, too!!

  23. We sent our holiday cards through Minted this year, and I won’t ever use any other company. They were adorable and so easy to format! I haven’t fully explored their website, so I love seeing these different gift ideas. PS. Tiramisu is my favorite dessert in any form, so I would dive headlong into this pan!

    • Minted is so great. I could spend hours looking through all their stuff. Glad you are loving this French Toast, Erin!

  24. My husband and I are kinda lame when it comes to V-Day and don’t really do anything. Sometimes he gets me flowers but I don’t think we’ve ever done the gift giving thing. I really do love getting presents though so maybe we should change that this year, haha! I can always get on board with delicious food though and this baked french toast looks amazing 🙂

  25. Uhm, this sounds AMAZING!! Can you come make this for me for bfast, please!? I’m deeming it A-OK to eat chocolate for breakfast on Valentine’s Day! 🙂

  26. I just discovered your blog and wanted to stop by to say this looks amazing! What a wonderful way to start off the morning!

  27. Um, just WOW. This french toast is totally gorgeous and you are totally genius for making tiramisu into breakfast material! Now I just need to find somebody willing to make me a whole panful of this on Saturday morning! 😀

  28. Liz, this is an amazing idea, not to mention an excellent execution! Wow. Totally going to steal this one for breakfast on Valentine’s Day!

  29. I’m most likely cooking dinner for us on Valentine’s Day…and now I want breakfast for dinner!

  30. This looks fab!! I have to admit I only tried French toast for the first time last week, but now I’m in love!! I so want my other half to make this for me, might print it and leave it on the fridge to hint!!

    • What! First time having french toast! Girl, you’ve got some time to make up for. Definitely get the significant other to make you this!

  31. Pingback: Tiramisu Inspired Recipes Roundup

  32. Pingback: Mother’s Day Round-Up | No Spoon Necessary

  33. LOVE your update, Liz and yes to this kind of decadence for Valentines, or anytime a Tiramisu craving strikes! I know I’d absolutely LOVE this Liz!

  34. Could this sit overnight in the fridge as a make ahead? Or would it be too soggy? This looks great!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *