Pumpkin Bread French Toast
- Level: Advanced
- Yield: 6 servings
- Total: 3 hr 20 min
- Active: 2 hr
Ingredients
Butter or oil, as needed for the skillet
Twelve 4-inch squares Pumpkin Bread, recipe follows
4 cups French Toast Egg Custard, recipe follows
2 cups Sweet Cream Cheese, recipe follows
Powdered sugar, for sprinkling
Allspice Dulce De Leche, recipe follows
Candy pumpkins, for topping
Pumpkin Bread:
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
5 cups granulated sugar
3 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 tablespoon baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 large eggs
2 3/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups water
Nonstick cooking spray or oil, for greasing the pan
French Toast Egg Custard:
10 large eggs
3/4 cup light cream
3/4 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch ground cinnamon
Sweet Cream Cheese:
2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Allspice Dulce De Leche:
1 quart light cream
2 cups sugar
1/4 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 tablespoon ground allspice
Directions
Special equipment:
a half sheet pan with side extenders- In a skillet over medium heat, place a small amount of butter or oil. Once butter is completely melted or oil is hot, working in batches, dunk Pumpkin Bread in French Toast Egg Custard, completely submerging the bread. Place bread a few pieces at a time in the skillet and cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 5 minutes. With a spatula, flip the bread and cook the other side. The bread is done when both sides are browned and the egg custard is cooked completely through. Repeat until all bread is cooked, adding more butter to skillet as needed.
- Put toast on a plate. Spread Sweet Cream Cheese on the top side of bread. Stack 2 pieces with cream cheese on top of each other, making sure to balance, making 6 servings. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the toast and serving plates or platter. Drizzle Allspice Dulce De Leche over the top of the toast. Top each stack with a candy pumpkin.
Pumpkin Bread:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the wet ingredients (eggs, pumpkin, oil and water). Turn mixer on low and mix wet ingredients. While mixer is on, slowly add dry ingredients until incorporated. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Turn off mixer.
- Grease a half sheet pan (18-x-13 inches) and top with greased side extenders.
- Pour in the pumpkin batter, making sure to spread evenly across pan. Lift the pan up and down, tapping it on the counter to remove air pockets and level the mixture.
- Bake for about 20 minutes with a low fan (convection). The bread is finished when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, or the bread springs back when lightly pressed. Cool bread.
- Remove sheet pan side extenders. Cut bread into 4-inch squares with a large knife or square cookie cutter.
French Toast Egg Custard:
- Combine eggs, cream, vanilla and cinnamon in a medium bowl and mix with a whisk. Refrigerate if not using right away.
Sweet Cream Cheese:
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix cream cheese and butter on low speed. While still on low speed, add powdered sugar until completely combined. Add vanilla extract.
- Turn off mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl, making sure all ingredients are in the center of the bowl. Turn on mixer again and mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Refrigerate until needed.
Allspice Dulce De Leche:
- Combine cream, sugar, baking soda and allspice in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture is thick enough that you can see the bottom of the pan when stirred, about 1 hour. If the mixture boils over, turn down the heat and continue to mix.
- Remove from the heat and let cool. The sauce should be thick enough when cool to hold its shape.