Good Morning Sunshine! Now Serving Baked French Toast for Brunch

After an exhausting Friday-night-out with the girls, nothing sounds more amazing than French toast.  But who has the time to make French toast?!  Certainly not A and I.  Enter the solution A's family shared with me: Baked French Toast.  Every time I have visited A's family in Atlanta, we always wake up to that delicious smell of warm maple syrup and the oven creating wonders.  Without fail, A, her twin sister L, and I will all stumble out of bed and follow our nose's to the kitchen where Mama R and Papa R are preparing this easy, delicious breakfast feast.

My favorite thing about this recipe is that you can make it the night before, refrigerate it overnight, and toss it in the oven the next morning for 45 minutes and ta-da! breakfast is served!  It's great with fresh mixed berries on the side (think blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries) and a big ol' cup of coffee to get your day started, or a mimosa, depending on what kind of mood you're in!

This is a super short, super quick, super easy dish to prepare and is liked by almost everyone.  I happen to not be a big fan of cream cheese (or not at all), but it is necessary for this recipe.  I like to reduce the amount of cream cheese, add some extra bread, maple syrup, and cinnamon on top.  I'm still trying to figure out a delicious alternative to the cream cheese so I don't end up eating around it, but I have yet to strike gold.

BAKED BRUNCH FRENCH TOAST

(Courtesy of Mama & Papa R)

Ingredients:

1 loaf of French bread (about 1 lb) cut into rough cubes

8 oz cream cheese (I like to reduce it to 4-5 oz)

12 eggs 

2 cups skim milk 

1/3 cup maple syrup (and extra to put on top)

Preparation:

Cube the bread and place about 1/2 in layer in the bottom of a greased 9x13 cake pan.

Cube cream cheese & place on top of bread cubes.

Add remaining bread cubes on top.

Combine the eggs, milk, and syrup in a bowl.  Pour over the cubed bread.

Cover and refrigerate overnight (somehow makes it taste better).

The next morning, bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes (bake covered for ~35 minutes and then uncover).

Serve with lots of maple syrup and fresh berries on the side.

The other variation of this brunch dish (which I have yet to try this exact recipe) sounds delicious and just as easy.  For someone who's not crazy about cream cheese, I think I might like the following recipe even better.  I have added the fruit and other additions to this recipe from past brunch cooking experiences, and I can't imagine any of it would taste bad -- especially when it's all drenched in maple syrup!  I'll have to make it this weekend and let you know...

BAKED CINNAMON & VANILLA 
FRENCH TOAST W/ BANANAS

Bananas w/ Maple Syrup over Baked

French Toast

Ingredients:
1 lb French bread (you can slice diagonally into 1-in slices or cubes)

8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp light corn syrup
2-3 bananas (depending on how much you like them... I LOVE them!)
Powdered sugar & cinnamon (to sprinkle on top).
Preparation:
Grease (or butter) a 9x13in baking dish.  Arrange about 1/2 of the bread pieces in the bottom of the dish.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Pour 1/2 the egg mix over the bread slices; add rest of bread on top; pour rest of egg mix on top (making 2 layers).
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan; heat until gently bubbling.
Pour mixture over bread mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes covered.
Remove cover; add banana slices to top; continue baking at 350 for 10-15 minutes (until it looks golden and just barely crispy on top).
Sprinkle some cinnamon & powdered sugar on top; serve with maple syrup and a fruit side.

My mouth is watering just looking at the recipe and these photographs?! Mmmmmm... I might not be able to wait until this weekend to make it.  Breakfast for Dinner anyone?!