Strawberry French Toast Casserole

French toast for me is the epitome of living life to the fullest. Inventing a meal time in between breakfast and lunch? I'm all for it. Skipping gym on a Sunday morning to queue up for pancakes. Standing still requires muscles right? Bring it on! And what better way to have brunch, than having brunch without leaving the comfort of your own home? Sounds like a perfect weekend to me.

This recipe is adapted from a crunchy French toast recipe I found online. It's like a bread pudding, except replace the bread and milk with brioche and mascarpone.

Prep+cooking time: 40 mins
Servings: 6-8 generous portions from a 40x30 cm casserole dish

Ingredients for French toast

• 1 loaf brioche
• 2 punnets strawberries, hulled and washed
• 125g mascarpone or soft cream cheese
• 4 medium free range eggs
• 4-5 tbsp whole milk
• 2 tbsp brown or caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for streusel topping (optional)

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/392F/Gas mark 6 and grease a baking tray or casserole dish.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, sugar and milk.
3. Cut half the brioche in inch thick slices and line the dish. Next, layer half of the strawberries so that the brioche layer is covered before pouring half the egg mix on top. 
4. The next few steps are optional. You can stop at one layer but this recipe makes enough for two. Mix the mascarpone and sugar to create a creamy filling and smooth on top. 
5. Layer the rest of the strawberries, brioche and egg mix. 
6. In a small bowl, rub together the butter, flour and sugar to create a quick streusel. 
7. Bake for 30 minutes. Halfway through add the streusel so that the top comes out crunchy, sweet and golden. 
8. Serve immediately on its own.