About
It's a casserole! It's a French toast sandwich! It's a dessert! You're right on all counts! It's No-School Casserole, the perfect way to celebrate a snow day, summer break, or just a goofing-off kind of day! The bread is tender and coated in custard for a hearty sweetness, with a warm cinnamon-cream cheese filling in the center. It's luscious, luxurious, and so comforting, you'll have trouble stopping with just one slice. No-School Casserole means today is just for fun!
Ingredients
- For the casserole:
- 1 (12-16-ounce) loaf white bread, day-old, thinly sliced
- 5 large eggs
- 2 1/4 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- For the cinnamon-cream cheese filling:
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, plus more, to taste
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- confectioners' sugar, optional, to taste, for serving
Directions
Step 1 -Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Step 2 -Lightly coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
Step 3 -Layer 1/2 of the bread slices in the prepared baking dish, overlapping as needed and placing them tightly together.
Step 4 -In a bowl, add 5 of the eggs and whisk them until well-beaten.
Step 5 -Add the milk, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the vanilla, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, the nutmeg, and the salt to the beaten eggs and whisk until combined.
Step 6 -Pour 1/2 of the custard mixture over the bread in the baking dish, letting it soak and settle into the bread.
Step 7 -In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the softened cream cheese, the butter, the remaining egg, 1 tablespoon of the remaining cinnamon, and the remaining sugar and beat to combine until very soft and fluffy.
Step 8 -Drop dollops of the cream cheese mixture over the bread-custard mixture in the baking dish and carefully spread it out so it mostly covers the bread layer.
Step 9 -Layer the remaining bread slices over the cream cheese mixture layer in the baking dish.
Step 10 -Pour the remaining custard over the top of the bread layer in the baking dish.
Step 11 -Sprinkle the extra cinnamon evenly over the top of the bake.
Step 12 -Bake the casserole until firmly set and lightly browned, about 50 minutes.
Step 13 -Cool the casserole on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
Step 14 -Slice the casserole into thick squares.
Step 15 -Serve the casserole squares dusted with the confectioners' sugar.
