But let me warn you about this one thing. If you think the French toast casserole itself is tasty, just wait until you whip up the Buttermilk Syrup and try it, because it’s to-die-for yummy! Honestly, when I heard about it, my first thought was, “You want me to ruin perfectly good French toast by putting what on it? Buttermilk? You have got to be kidding me!”

Then I overcame my skepticism and actually tried it. It is buttery, creamy, sweet and a tiny bit frothy. You might want to double the syrup. It couldn’t be any further from maple syrup if it moved to the South Pole! Which, for me anyway, is a decidedly good thing, because I never really liked maple syrup.

 

INGREDIENTS

For the French toast

1 loaf sourdough bread (we used Pepperidge Farm loaf)

8 eggs

2 cups milk

½ cup heavy cream

¾ cup sugar

2 Tbsp. vanilla

 

For the Topping

½ cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup cold butter, cut into pieces

 

For the Buttermilk Syrup

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

½ cup buttermilk

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

 

DIRECTIONS

Cut loaf into cubes and place evenly in a greased 9×13 pan.

In a bowl, mix together eggs, milk, heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread.

Cover your pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.

Cut in butter with this mixture until crumbly and place in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate overnight as well.

Take pan and Ziploc out when ready to bake. Sprinkle crumbly mixture evenly over the bread.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on how soft you like it.

For syrup, melt all ingredients in a pot until well mixed. Serve on top of French toast casserole.

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Quick Tip:  To make the topping easily, once you have mixed your dry ingredients together, use your fingers to work the butter into them, until crumbs form. Just keep piling the dry ingredients on top of the butter and then pushing it through your fingers. The dry ingredients will coat the butter and it will break down into crumbs. Using forks or a pastry cutter will take you much longer, and the results are not as satisfactory.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Kristyn at lil’ luna