Yum, yum, yum. I think french toast is my favorite breakfast food. And that’s saying a lot, because I LOVE breakfast foods. From Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch to egg white omelet, it’s all good stuff. With this recipe you get the benefits of french toast, but you can prepare ahead of time and you don’t have to stand over the stove top while everyone else is eating and waiting for more. That’s good.
Cinnamon Baked French Toast
12 servings (calorie estimate: 4,600 total, could be more depending on bread)
courtesy The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Ingredients
1 loaf crusty sourdough or french bread
8 whole eggs
2 cups whole milk
½ cups whipping (heavy) cream
¾ cups sugar
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
Topping
½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoons salt
1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces
fresh fruit (optional)
Preparation
Grease 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.
Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and put into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.
When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from fridge and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. (If you’re using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.) Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.
Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup.
