Go Back
A golden baked chocolate croissant breakfast bake in a round white dish, with flaky croissant pieces, dark chocolate chunks, creamy custard, and a dusting of powdered sugar, served on a marble surface with a pitcher of custard sauce alongside.

Chocolate Croissant Breakfast Bake

A luxurious, easy sweet breakfast casserole featuring flaky stale croissants soaked in a rich vanilla egg custard and baked with molten dark chocolate chunks.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Soaking Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 6 people
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Calories: 410
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 6 pieces stale croissants torn into rustic chunks to absorb the liquid custard cleanly
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips divided for internal layers and top melting decoration
  • 4 large eggs provides the essential stable baked bread pudding structure
  • 1.5 cups whole milk forms the smooth traditional dairy base liquid wash
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream adds a luxurious velvety richness to the custard layer
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar sweetens the base cleanly without adding any heavy grit

Equipment

  • 1 Round Ceramic Pie Dish Greased well with unsalted butter before assembly steps
  • 1 Glass Mixing Bowl To whisk the egg custard base components smoothly
  • 1 Balloon Whisk To thoroughly combine the milk, eggs, and sugar crystals

Method
 

  1. Tear the stale croissants into large rustic chunks using your bare hands on a clean counter workspace surface.
  2. Arrange the croissant pieces in a neat circular layout inside the bottom of a greased round pie pan.
  3. Scatter half of the dark chocolate chunks evenly into the open spaces between the arranged croissant bread chunks.
  4. Whisk the large eggs, whole milk, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract inside a mixing bowl until completely smooth.
  5. Pour the sweet egg custard wash slowly over the arranged pastry layers, ensuring each chunk is thoroughly covered.
  6. Press the croissant pieces down gently with your palms to help them absorb the rich milk base liquid cleanly.
  7. Scatter the remaining dark chocolate chunks across the top surface to create a beautiful presentation to match the photo.
  8. Bake at 350°F for thirty minutes until the custard sets firmly and the exposed top edges turn golden crisp.

Notes

Use stale croissants to ensure the pastry fully absorbs the egg custard wash without turning mushy. If the top pastry layers brown too quickly in the oven, tent a piece of foil loosely over the dish.