Cinnamon Roll Croissant French Toast
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These incredibly delicious overnight Cinnamon Roll Croissant French Toast are crispy, velvety and so much fun! The recipe uses sweetened condensed milk, they are stuffed with a cinnamon-brown sugar mixture and topped with a thick cream cheese icing. Baked to perfection for less mess and crispy perfection. You’ll get that cinnamon roll taste in every bite! Who doesn't love a good dessert mashup for breakfast?!
If the flavors of these cinnamon croissant French toast sound heavenly to you, you will love them even more when I tell you that they can be made ahead. Just fill them with the cinnamon-sugar mixture and let them soaking overnight. The next morning you only need to arrange them in a baking tray and bake. As my (wishful) BFF Ina Garten would say, how easy is that?!
Ok, but what if you just woke up and stumbled upon this recipe and your belly want it now? Well, I got you! You can soak these for at least 30 minutes. The option to soak them overnight is to make your morning even more relaxing without the rush of having to put them together at the moment. But making these the same morning is equally fun, so I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time with your people beating the eggs and stuffing as much cinnamon sugar as possible in every bun. No matter how you make them, just brew some coffee and have a good time!
I love using condensed milk for French toasts not only for the caramel notes it brings to the flavor profile but also because being a liquid, it’ll travel to the farthest corners of the bread crumbs. Sometimes, no matter how much you beat the custard, the sugar granules don’t dissolved completely. This won’t happen when using condensed milk.
For serving these toasts, you can drizzling pure maple syrup or you can make a cream cheese icing to drench them as you would do with cinnamon rolls. Or you can drizzle both. You do you!
Here are my notes for you when you making this overnight French Toast recipe:
As with any good French toast, the idea is to use stale bread so it soaks more liquid. A way to mimic that texture is to lightly toast the bread before soaking. This way you will have a soft and velvety toast that still holds its form and has a crisp edges. That’s why I recommend toasting lightly your croissants or bread if these are too soft.
Next make the custard by mixing the eggs, condensed milk, coconut or regular milk, vanilla and salt. Is that simple! Mix the egg throughly so they are pretty smooth and foamy. Technically you can do this in the same dish you will put the bread to soak, but of the dish is too large you won’t be able to beat the eggs much. I beat everything in a smaller bowl just to have better control while whisking.
As you would do when making cinnamon rolls, brush some softened butter in the bread so the cinnamon-sugar mixture will stick to it as much as possible. Close and press each bun and spread a bit of extra butter on top.
Before putting the bread to soak, poke holes on them so they absorb more liquid. Pour the custard and let the buns sit a few minutes, then carefully and constantly pressing them tight, turn each bun. You may squeeze them down slightly to make sure they are absorbing the liquid. Your only job is to make sure they are coated on every tiny corner. Then cover and place in the fridge overnight, or at least 30 minutes.
The next day, preheat oven to 375° and transfer each bun to a baking rack. Baking them like this will allow the air to circulate, creating those crispy ridges we all live for! You may bake them directly in a baking sheet as well.
Sprinkle extra cinnamon-sugar on top before baking.
Go ahead and make that cream cheese icing. It’s going to be amazing with these, trust me!
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My oval white deep baking dish.
A pastry brush for smearing the butter easily over the bread.
This baking tray and baking rack set is pretty close to mine and its perfect for allowing air to circulate around foods.
Pre-cut parchment paper for easy cleaning.
3 recipes I think you’ll love if you’re loving this one:
Clafoutis with Blueberries and Lemon
Pecan Cinnamon Rolls with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing
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Now your next weekend morning will be a sweet breeze!! You can thank me later! Or better yet, take a pic while you are having these still on your pj’s (but please, the cute ones!) and share it with me at at Instagram (@devamadeo), TikTok (@DevAmadeo) or Facebook (@DevAmadeo)! Happy brunching!
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Cinnamon Roll Croissant French Toast
Ingredients
Cinnamon Croissant French Toast
◯ Croissants - 4
◯ Large eggs (preferably organic) - 3
◯ Condensed milk - ⅓ cup, 112g
◯ Pure canned coconut milk or heavy cream - ½ cup, 104g
◯ Vanilla extract - 1 Tsp, 4g
◯ Fine sea salt - ¼ Tsp
◯ Dark brown sugar - ¾ cup, 148g
◯ Natural granulated sugar - ¼ cup, 50g
◯ Cinnamon - 2 TBSP, 12g
◯ Butter, softened - 8 TBSP, 114g
Cream Cheese Icing
◯ Cream cheese, softened - 8 TBSP, 114g
◯ Butter softened - 2 to 3 TBSP - 28g to 42g
◯ Confectioner’s sugar - ½ cup, 56g
◯ Vanilla - few drops
Details
Yield:
4 whole croissants
Total time:
30 minutes plus overnight time in the fridge (can be reduced to 1 hour, see notes)
Active time: 5 minutes to prepare the bread, 15 minutes to make the custard
Baking time:
10 minutes
Equipment:
baking dish, baking tray, preferably with rack
Steps
Optional:
If croissants are too soft, open them and lightly toast them for 2 to 3 minutes in a 300° oven (regular or countertop). Let them cool down and dry a bit for 10 minutes. Croissants that are too soft can become soggy with the custard.
Making the French Toast:
In a bowl mix the ¾ cup/148g of dark brown sugar, the ¼ cup/50g of natural granulated sugar and the 2 tablespoons/12g of cinnamon.
Spread about 2 tablespoons of the softened butter inside each croissant. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoon of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on each side of the croissant. Close it and press it down slightly. Spread some extra butter on top.
Place croissants in a large baking dish and poke hole through them with a long toothpick. Pour egg mixture on top. Let them soak for a few minutes. Rotate them and press them down. Let them soak again a few minutes. Rotate them once more. Cover dish and place it in the fridge to soak at least at an hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375°. Arrange croissants on a baking rack over a baking sheet. Sprinkle some extra cinnamon-sugar on top. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown and crispy on the edges.
While the French Toast are baking, mix the 8 tablespoons/114g of softened cream cheese and the 2 to 3 tablespoons/28 to 42 grams of butter with a hand whisk until well combined. Add the ½ cup/56g of confectioner’s sugar and mix well until there are no lumps. Add the few drops of vanilla and mix. Keep mixing until the sugar has dissolve completely.
Pour icing on top of each croissant. Serve with fresh berries. You may sprinkle crushed toasted pecans or pistachios as well.
Store any leftover in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat in a 350° for 3 to 4 minutes. Let it cool down a bit before that first bite!
