The homemade eggnog batter in this French toast recipe gives a classic breakfast dish a holiday makeover.
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Eggnog French toast bake
This is French toast batter is so much more luscious than your traditional egg and milk batter. And it’s a wonderful brunch dish around the holidays.
While you could mix eggs with pre-made eggnog, I highly recommend making the batter from scratch.
The first step in this recipe involves whipping heavy cream into stiff peaks. Once folded in with the egg yolks, bourbon, sugar and nutmeg, the batter is very thick. As it bakes around the crusty bread, it forms a pillowy, custard-like layer of holiday cheer.
For the bread, I recommend using a loaf of country white bread with a crusty exterior. You can usually find these in the bakery section at your local grocery store. If you can’t find one, regular white bread, challah bread, brioche, French bread or sourdough bread will also work well.
What I love about this recipe is that it all bakes together in a casserole dish, so you don’t have to slave over a skillet or griddle to pull off Christmas morning breakfast. You can just just place the pan in the oven and get back to the family.
Eggnog French Toast
Ingredients
- 4 slices country white bread
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp bourbon
- nutmeg
- salt
- 2 tbsp butter
Optional Toppings
- butter
- maple syrup
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Heat Oven: Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
- Whip Cream: Place the cream in a medium bowl. Using a hand mixer, whip it to stiff peaks.
- Beat Eggs: Place the egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl. Using a hand mixer, whisk until the eggs are doubled in size and smooth, pale yellow.
- Fold: Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg yolks into cream. Stir in the bourbon and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.
- Melt: Place the butter in a 13 x 9 pan, and place the pan in the oven until the butter is melted.
- Batter: Slice the bread into quarters. Dip each quarter into the eggnog batter and coat on all sides. Arrange the bread slices in the warm 13 x 9 pan.
- Season: Pour the remaining batter over the slices in the pan. Sprinkle on a small amount of nutmeg and salt.
- Bake: Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
- Serve: Serve warm with butter, syrup and powdered sugar.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients for KW
- Country White Bread: Look for thick-cut country white bread. This is a little more dense than regular white bread and makes wonderful French toast.
- Heavy Cream: The cream gets whipped to stiff peaks for a thick luscious batter.
- Egg Yolks
- White Sugar
- Bourbon or Whiskey: This is optional, but it gives the batter the rich caramel flavor of eggnog.
- Nutmeg: This is one of the quintessential spices used in eggnog.
- Salt
- Butter: You’ll need two tablespoons for the pan and a little more to brush on top of the finished French toast.
- Maple Syrup: This is optional. The French toast is sweet enough to me that it doesn’t need syrup. But some people, like my husband, can’t eat French toast without it.
Substitutions: If don’t want to use alcohol, you can use bourbon extract or rum extract.
See the full recipe card for servings and a full list of ingredients.
How to bake eggnog French toast
- Heat Oven: Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
- Whip Cream: Place the cream in a mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
- Beat Eggs: Place the eggs and sugar in another bowl. Using the hand mixer, whisk the eggs until they double in size.
- Fold: Gently fold the eggs into the whipped cream. Stir in the bourbon and nutmeg.
✔️ PRO TIP
For the most flavorful nutmeg, use whole nutmeg and grate it freshly with a zester or microplane.
- Melt: Place two tablespoons of butter in a 13×9 baking dish. Place the pan in the oven and let the butter melt. Then, remove the pan from the oven.
- Batter: Cut each bread slice into quarters. Dunk it into the eggnog mixture. Place the slices in the pan on the melted butter in a single layer.
- Season: Pour the rest of the batter on top of the bread slices and season with more nutmeg and salt.
- Bake: Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
How to serve eggnog French toast
Use a spatula to place pieces of French toast on a plate. Top with a pat of butter. If you’re a syrup fan, drizzle on some maple syrup. You can also sprinkle with powdered sugar and more nutmeg.
Serve with a side of sausage or bacon and some Fresh fruit.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. The French toast will get a little soggy. You can reheat it in the microwave. But if you want to bring the crispiness back, reheat it in a toaster oven or air fryer.
More brunch recipes
- Blueberry Stuffed French Toast
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Baked French Toast with Bacon Pecan Maple Syrup
- Pumpkin French toast recipe
- Lemon Meringue French Toast
Awesome! Had to replace bread with hot dog buns and heavy cream was plant based.
lol – I love that you improvised with what you had and that it all worked out.