Strawberries and Cream French Toast Casserole

Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan well with nonstick spray.

Place half of the bread cubes into the prepared baking pan. Set aside.

10 cups cubed bread (1-2 inch sized cubes)

chunks of bread layered along the bottom of a casserole dish

In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract and beat until well mixed.

8 ounces cream cheese, ¼ cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the bread in the prepared baking pan.

layer of cream cheese spread on top of French toast casserole

Sprinkle 2 cups of strawberries evenly over the cream cheese layer. Save the remaining 1 cup of strawberries for topping after baking.

3 cups sliced fresh strawberries

layer of sliced strawberries in a casserole dish

Evenly place the remaining half of the bread cubes over the strawberry layer.

pieces of bread layered on top of a French toast casserole

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs well, then add the milk, heavy cream, granulated sugar, syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon. Whisk until well mixed.

8 large eggs, 1½ cups milk, ½ cup heavy cream, ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup pancake syrup, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

cinnamon and milk mixture in a small bowl

Pour the wet mixture evenly over the top bread layer. Use a spatula to lightly push all bread down into the wet mixture.

Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 8 hours). This step is required so the bread has time to soak up all the liquid.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the casserole from the refrigerator while the oven preheats.

For the crumble mixture, combine the brown sugar, flour, and melted butter with a fork. Use hands to evenly sprinkle this mixture over the cream cheese french toast casserole right before baking.

¼ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

French toast casserole topped with a crumble topping

Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 35 minutes. After a total of 55 minutes of baking, the top should look lightly toasted and the middle of the casserole will no longer look wet. If the middle still looks wet, bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Sprinkle remaining strawberries over baked casserole before serving warm with pancake syrup, if desired.