Luxurious Breakfast Bread Casserole

Votes: 1

Time: 45 min plus steeping time
Complexity: easily
Servings: 8

This delicious and impressive casserole is perfect for a holiday brunch or Sunday afternoon. It has everything that makes Eggs Benedict so beloved: brioche, poached eggs, bacon, and the most delicious hollandaise sauce. English muffin halves are soaked in the creamy mixture and baked with slices of lean Canadian bacon until the custard is set. Just before serving, top the casserole with poached eggs and drizzle with lemon hollandaise sauce. It's best to start preparing the casserole the night before to allow the brioche to soak up the cream, but there's a recipe below for those short on time.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

Casserole

8 English muffins
1 tbsp unsalted butter
16 slices Canadian bacon (approximately)
2 cups of milk
0.5 cups heavy cream
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1.5 tsp coarse salt
0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 large eggs

Hollandaise sauce

15 tbsp unsalted butter
4 large yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1.5 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Poached eggs

1 tbsp. white vinegar
8 large eggs
3 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

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Recipes with similar ingredients: bacon, eggs, milk, cream, nutmeg, ground cayenne pepper

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Grease a 22 x 32 cm baking dish.

Cut English muffins in half horizontally. Arrange them cut-side up in a baking pan in 2 rows, alternating top and bottom halves. Place 1 slice of Canadian bacon between each muffin.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and eggs until smooth. Drizzle the cream over the muffins, then cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight (see Note).

Preheat oven to 175°C.
Remove the film from the pan and replace it with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake until the casserole is set and the buns and bacon are golden brown around the edges, another 30 minutes.
Hollandaise sauce:

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper to the blender and blend for 1 minute. With the blender running, very slowly pour the melted butter through the hole in the lid.
Poached eggs:

Pour 2 liters of water into a large saucepan. Add vinegar and bring to a vigorous boil over medium heat.

Crack 4 eggs into small bowls. If the boiling water has evaporated too much, add a little more water and bring to a steady simmer. Drop the eggs into the water in one quick motion. Cook until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny, 4-5 minutes. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
Place 4 eggs on each side of the finished casserole. Drizzle with hollandaise sauce and sprinkle with green onions. Serve the casserole warm, with the remaining hollandaise sauce on the side. If the sauce is too thick, thin it with 1 tablespoon of water.

Quick preparation

If you don't have time to let the casserole rise overnight, cut each English muffin in half and place them in a large bowl; pour the cream mixture over them. Let them rise for 15 minutes, turning them occasionally to ensure they are completely coated and absorb the cream. Then, arrange them in a baking pan as directed above.