Let’s get one thing straight – this is not a breakfast casserole for the faint of heart. It’s rich, decadent and stunningly delicious. It’s something to serve for a special occasion or on a lazy Sunday morning…perhaps before a long workout or on a day when you have a light lunch. The best part about this casserole is that it can be made the night before and popped into the oven when you wake up. I call for French bread in the recipe, but truthfully, as I was cleaning up the kitchen from a dinner party, I noticed I had scraps of all sorts of bread. Instead of throwing them out, they made their way into this casserole. It was an excellent way to use up leftover bread. Give this recipe a try the next time you want to serve something extra special for breakfast.
Baked French Toast Casserole
Ingredients:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, separated into 2, 3/4 cups
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, plus additional for topping
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 loaf of French bread, cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- Powdered sugar
Directions:
- Pour butter into a 9×13 baking dish.
- Sprinkle half of the brown sugar on top of the butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, heavy cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
- Make one layer of bread in the baking dish, using half of the bread.
- Pour half of the egg mixture over the bread.
- Layer in the remaining bread and top with remaining egg mixture.
- Sprinkle bread with the rest of the brown sugar. Dot the bread with small pieces of butter.
- Cover and let sit in the fridge overnight.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake French toast, uncovered, for 30 – 35 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and top with powdered sugar and drizzle with maple syrup.
Tagged: breakfast, brown sugar, brunch, butter, casserole, cinnamon, eggs, heavy cream, maple syrup, nutmeg, vanilla
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