French Toast Bake

The Foodies' KitchenDecember 2, 2016

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

For this Holiday Season, we wanted to bring you a recipe you could use to enjoy a delicious breakfast for a crowd, without working too much in the kitchen. This is the season for family, and some of you might have guests staying over. You can prepare this french toast bake the night before, and in the morning you just need to pop it in the oven for 45 minutes, while you have your coffee and read the paper.

The house will smell wonderful, and you will have an amazing breakfast everyone will love. While this is baking in the oven, you could also cook some bacon to go with it. Lately, we’ve been using the microwave method, for practicality’s sake. To make it, just need to place 2 paper kitchen towels on a microwave-safe plate, lay about 6-7 strips of bacon without them overlapping. Cover with another 2 sheets of paper towels, and cook for 3-minute intervals, until they are cooked and crisp. It usually takes two 3 minute intervals. Be careful when removing the plate from the microwave… it will be very hot.

At Almacenes Siman we found three key products for our French Toast Bake. First, an oven-safe glass 8×8 pan where we prepared and baked the french toasts, that also happens to have a cover, perfect for covering our french toasts the night before and placing it in the fridge overnight. Then, a black spatula so we could serve the french toasts and, las but not least, a wooden tray to bring breakfast to bed, in case you want to spoil a special guest!

This French Toast Bake is a lifesaver when cooking for a crowd. The bread soaks the custard mixture, and when baked it puffs up slightly. The top remains crisp and golden and the middle is moist without being soggy. You can adjust the amount of cinnamon to your liking, and can also add other ingredients to the custard mix, such as orange or lemon zest. We’d love to hear from you, so let us know if you try this recipe this Holiday Season!

Helga & Kitty

French Toast Bake

Recipe adapted from I Wash You Dry
Yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 loaf of French or Baguette Bread
1 cup brown sugar, divided
¼ cup of unsalted butter (½ stick)
6 large eggs
1 ½ cups milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

Combine ¼ cup melted butter and ¾ cup brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat stirring until combined. Spread this mixture in the bottom of an 8″ x 8″ baking pan, into an even layer.
Top the brown sugar mixture with evenly sliced bread, stacking them slightly on top of each other forming rows. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine the eggs, milk, maple syrup, vanilla and almond extracts, nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Whisk until smooth and combined. Ladle the egg mixture over the top of the bread, making sure to cover any dry bread.
In another small dish combine ¼ cup brown sugar and ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the top of the french toast casserole, then drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to let it soak for 20 minutes.
Remove French toast bake from the fridge and set on counter while oven preheats to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap. Combine 2 tablespoons of sugar and the remaining ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon in a small dish and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the custard has set.
Let cool slightly before slicing and serving with a light dusting of icing sugar, berries and maple syrup. Enjoy!

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen!

Want more?

You can subscribe to our newsletter and we’ll send you the monthly recipes! You can also keep up to date on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or Tumblr.