Baking, Breakfast sweets, Brunch dontmissmyplate Baking, Breakfast sweets, Brunch dontmissmyplate

Apple Pie French Toast Bake

Apple pie and French toast are both classic comfort foods, and combining them just makes sense. This Apple Pie French Toast Bake is cozy, apple-forward, and perfect for slower fall weekend mornings.

This bake takes thick slices of challah bread and turns them into a soft, custardy breakfast layered with cinnamon-spiced apples and topped with a buttery graham cracker crumble and pecans. The custard comes together with melted vanilla ice cream instead of the usual mix of eggs, milk, and sugar, which sounds like an indulgence but is really a shortcut: the ice cream already has the eggs, dairy, sugar, and vanilla built in, so you skip several steps and still get a rich, custardy soak. The apples get the same treatment. Canned apple pie filling stands in for cooking down fresh apples with cinnamon and sugar, so all that cozy apple pie flavor is there without the extra pot on the stove.

It has much of the flavor of apple pie in a breakfast bake that's much easier to pull together, and you can decide how you want the texture to turn out. If you love a really soft, custardy French toast, let the bread soak thoroughly before baking so it has plenty of time to absorb the custard. If you prefer more texture, bake it a little longer so the top becomes golden and crisp while the center stays soft.

The graham cracker crumble adds another layer of texture, giving the top a buttery, cinnamon-sweet crunch without requiring a traditional streusel from scratch. Pecans add even more crunch and a nutty flavor that works especially well with the apples and cinnamon.

You don't need to be an experienced baker to make this, and that's part of the appeal. There's no complicated dough, no individual French toast slices to stand over at the stove, and no need to make a separate apple pie. Everything comes together in one baking dish, and you can even assemble the whole thing the night before and let it sit in the fridge, then bake it fresh in the morning. It's the kind of breakfast that feels a little special without asking for your whole morning. Serve it warm on its own, or add a small scoop of vanilla ice cream for an especially indulgent finish.

apple pie, french toast
brunch, breakfast
French, American
Yield: 3–4 (1–2 slices per person; makes 6–8 slices)
Author:
Apple Pie French Toast Bake

Apple Pie French Toast Bake

A cozy brunch dish made with challah, apple pie filling, and a graham cracker pecan crumble, topped with pecans. The custard comes together with melted vanilla ice cream, a shortcut that makes this indulgent bake surprisingly easy, and you can even assemble it the night before.

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 35 MinInactive time: 20 MinTotal time: 1 H & 15 M
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

French Toast Bake
  • 6-8 thick slices challah bread
  • 1½ cups vanilla ice cream, melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon tea masala spice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
Apple Pie Filling
  • ½ (21-oz) can apple pie filling (about 10.5 oz)
Graham Cracker Crumble
  • 3 graham crackers
  • 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1½ tablespoons cold unsalted butter
For Serving
  • ¼ cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
  • Vanilla ice cream, optional
  • Honey, optional

Instructions

  1. Melt the vanilla ice cream until completely liquid but not hot (use the defrost setting of you microwave for a few seconds). Whisk together the melted ice cream, egg, egg yolk, tea masala spice and vanilla extract until smooth.
  2. Arrange the bread slices snugly in your baking dish, overlapping slightly if needed.
  3. Pour the custard evenly over the bread, making sure each piece gets coated. Let the bread soak for 15–20 minutes, spooning any custard from the bottom of the dish back over any dry areas during the soaking time.
  4. The bread should look saturated, but you should not have a large pool of unused custard sitting around it.
  5. Arrange the apples over and between the slices of soaked bread.
  6. Add the graham crackers, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt to a food processor. Pulse until the crackers are broken down into coarse crumbs, not a completely fine powder.
  7. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse, crumbly streusel with some larger pieces remaining.
  8. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumble evenly over the apples and bread.
  9. Bake at 350°F for 35–40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and crisp and the center is set but still soft and custardy. If you want a softer, more custardy bake, pull it toward the lower end of the baking time. For a firmer bake with more texture on top, let it go a little longer.
  10. Let the bake rest for about 5 minutes.
  11. Top with lightly toasted pecans. Serve warm, either on its own or with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, any left over crumble, and a drizzle of honey.

Notes

  • Use thick-cut challah, brioche, or another soft but sturdy bread. Very thin sandwich bread will become too soft and fall apart.
  • Make sure the custard reaches all of the bread before baking. It should look absorbed, not pooled, once the soak is done. For a crispier top, bake toward the longer end of the recommended time.
  • The graham cracker crumble should be coarse and uneven rather than pulverized into fine sand. Those little buttery pieces are what give the topping its texture.
  • Light brown sugar works best here because it adds sweetness and caramel flavor without overpowering the apples and cinnamon.
  • Toast the pecans briefly before serving for the best flavor and crunch.
  • A little vanilla ice cream on top turns this into a very indulgent brunch or dessert-style breakfast.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

600

Fat (grams)

29 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

13 g

Carbs (grams)

75 g

Fiber (grams)

5 g

Sugar (grams)

35 g

Protein (grams)

14 g

Sodium (milligrams)

500 mg

I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on dontmissmyplate.com should only be used as a general guideline.

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Biscoff Apple Pie

Apple pie is honestly hard to resist. But so is biscoff! If you’re a fan of both, check out this Biscoff and Toffee Apple Bread Pudding recipe here.

Biscoff isn't too sweet, spiced with warm, fall flavours. Topping an apple pie, the thick layer of smooth warm melted cookie adds great texture and lends the undertones of caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

Ingredients

5 apples, diced

6 biscoff cookies, crushed (save 1 + 1 tablespoon for garnish)

1/2 cup coconut sugar

2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup biscoff

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 pie dough crusts, thawed

1 egg (egg wash)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Sea salt (optional)

Vanilla ice cream

Instructions

Peel, quarter and thinly slice the apples, then add to a large bowl. Coat with the lemon juice and toss.

Add the flour, crushed biscoff cookies, and spices; evenly coat, stirring with a spoon.

Unroll one pie crust into a pie tin and press down slightly to ensure there aren't any pockets of air on the sides. Pour the apples over.

Roll over the second pie crust on top then use scissors to cut away excess dough. Use a spoon or fork to press and seal the edges, and then make four incisions in the center of the pie. Brush with egg wash then bake for 30 minutes at 350F.

Remove from oven and cool for 2 minutes while melting biscoff in the microwave for about 35 seconds or until melted. Pour over the hot pie.

Sprinkle the crushed biscoff cookies, sea salt, and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

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