french toast....

[dcjlkplus3]

I know I saw on here somewhere, at some point in time, some ideas for baked french toast. I can't find it now though :tongue_smilie:.

 

If you have a kind of baked french toast that you like, would you be willing to share, pretty please?

 

I seem to remember seeing something about french bread and cream cheese smothered in egg/milk mixture?

[Sandy in Indy]

This is one we love. I make it for Christmas morning.

 

Overnight French Toast

 

1 loaf of cinnamon swirl bread

3 cups of milk OR half & half (It’s better with half & half. It's only once a year; go for it!)

2 tsp. vanilla

6 eggs

 

cinnamon sugar, butter, syrup

 

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with PAM.

 

Beat 6 eggs; add milk and vanilla and whisk until foamy. Let it sit while you cut the bread up into cubes.

 

Spread the cubes in the bottom of your prepared pan. Pour the egg mixture over top. Gently toss with your hands until the bread is all moist. Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

 

In the morning, uncover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

 

Serve with cinnamon sugar, butter, and/or syrup.

[Negin]

We only have Baked French Toasts and I love making them. In fact, breakfast is my absolute favorite meal to make. :)

 

Baked French Toast with Pie Filling

1 8 oz loaf French or Italian bread

8 eggs

1 cup milk

2 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. baking powder

2 cans pie filling – apple/blackberry/blueberry/cherry

1 tsp. cinnamon

4 T. margarine, melted

Powdered sugar

 

Slice bread into 3/4 inch slices. Place on cookie sheet. Mix well the eggs, baking powder, milk, and vanilla. Pour over bread and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Next morning, preheat oven and remove bread from the fridge. Pour pie filling into 9x13 pan and spread as evenly as possible. Sprinkle cinnamon over pie filling. Wedge bread slices, wettest side up, into pan on top of filling. Brush tops with melted margarine and bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes until toasted golden. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and let sit 5 minutes. Serves 6 (in theory).

 

BLUEBERRY FRENCH TOAST

Serves 12

 

1 (1 pound) loaf Italian bread, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, diced

1 cup blueberries

12 eggs

2 cups milk

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup water

1 cup blueberries

1 tablespoon butter

 

1. Place half of the bread cubes in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle cream cheese on top of bread cubes. Top with 1 cup blueberries and remaining bread. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk and maple syrup. Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover pan and refrigerate overnight.

2. The next morning, remove pan from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

3. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover pan and bake for an additional 30 minutes, until golden brown and center is set.

4. To make Sauce: In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch, add water. Boil over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in blueberries and reduce heat. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes, or until the berries have burst. Stir in butter until melted. Serve the sauce over squares of french toast.

 

Cut eggs back to 9-10, and add 1 tsp. vanilla to the egg/milk mixture. Six to 8 oz. cream cheese is plenty. Spreading the cream cheese on the bread before slicing is a great idea if you have family members who aren't fond of cream cheese - it's less visible. Otherwise, cut into small dice no bigger than 1/2 inch (a little messy, but much better than the 1 inch squares suggested in other recipes). It's critical to sprinkle cinnamon (Someone suggested Pampered Chef's "Cinnnamon Plus" spice blend) on both the bottom and top layers of bread cubes - the cinnamon could be added to the egg mixture as well, but I would still sprinkle extra on top. For the sauce, use only about 1-2 tsp. of cornstarch, especially if you prepare it ahead of time - otherwise the sauce becomes too thick. Reduce the sugar to 1/4-1/3 cup, and add the juice of half a lemon for a little zip. Tip: Be careful not to use too much bread -- the dish can't "puff up" if all of the cubes aren't sufficiently saturated. Also, as much as I love the sauce, the dish is equally good and maybe even better with real maple syrup.

 

FRENCH TOAST BAKE - haven't tried this yet

French bread

5 eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

1 cup packed brown sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

 

1. Arrange bread in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, 3/4 cup brown sugar, vanilla and nutmeg; pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

2. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Sprinkle pecans over egg mixture. Combine butter and remaining sugar; drizzle over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with blueberries. Bake 10 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

 

The pan MUST BE GREASED. You can use mixed berries or blueberries; I always prefer blueberries - less seeds. The tartness of the blueberries balances the sweetness of the bread and we add a touch of syrup. I also add some cinnamon to the egg/milk mixture. I never have had it with the pecans... even though I'm sure it's delicious... just more pricey and never seem to have them on hand. I've never had to flip the bread, however I do have to bake it longer than the recipe calls for. Maybe as much as 45 minutes BEFORE you add the blueberries. But all the milk/egg mixture should be cooked through. Be patient! :-) I did take it out too early this xmas brunch (we were hungry and my father LOVED it still) but I put it back in for 10 more minutes and it was perfect. It will turn out delicious if baked enough. I think the time varies because the various bread thickness that people cut. I like thick bread and cut it thicker, then add more eggs and milk (used eggnog for my milk for xmas breakfast), thus making it take much longer to bake. Just give it time. But 25 mintues is certainly not enough if you cut it thick like I do. Might have to put a piece of tin foil lightly over the top towards the end if additional baking is necessary to keep the top from browning too much. This recipe is hard to ruin so don't depair.

 

I have now made this several times following the recipe, and once I used blueberries and peaches because I didn't have enough blueberries. We have to make it without the nuts now because my son is allergic, but each time it's delicious. It's definitely a must to flip over the bread before baking!

 

My only problem is that I should have let it cook much longer! The center was quite soggy. The flavour was great though, so no one really seemed to mind all that much. I would suggest adding another 15-25 mins to the cooking time.

[dcjlkplus3]

can't wait to try some of these :drool5:Any others???

 

:bigear:

[plansrme]

This is our regular recipe, which I like because it's quick and doesn't make a mess:

 

1. Slice a loaf of French (or similar) bread in 3/4"-1" thick slices, on the diagonal if you're feeling artistic. Butter and place in a 13x9 pan, butter side up.

 

2. Whisk together:

4 eggs

1/4 c. sugar

2 T. maple syrup

1 t. vanilla

dash salt

 

3. Pour egg mixture over buttered bread, cover and refrigerate overnight.

 

4, In the morning, transfer to a buttered/oiled/ or Pam'd cookie sheet, bake at 350 for a half-hour or so.

 

5. Serve with powdered sugar, syrup or whatever you normally eat with French toast.

 

Terri