Baked French Toast

I love this stuff!  And in all actuality, you can call it breakfast or dessert and you'd be correct on both counts.  For breakfast we call it Baked French Toast, but it also can appear as Bread Pudding if you serve it with ice cream:)  I've been trying to decide what to serve for Jed's mission farewell in a week, and I think this is the route we're going to go.  Brunch.  A little bit of breakfast food, and a little bit of lunch food, and lots of friends and family.  We should have a wonderful time.  Jed leaves on July 3rd for the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT and will be there for 11 weeks learning Albanian.  Then it's off to the Adriatic South Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!  Wow!  I swear he was just a little boy in primary just yesterday.  I love him:)

If you need a good brunch idea for your missionary farewell, 4th of July festivities, or just a wonderful Sat. summer breakfast go for this.  It's awesome, and you will love every last bite.

Baked French Toast

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman and slightly adapted by me

FRENCH TOAST

1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread

8 whole Eggs

2 cups Whole Milk

½ cups Whipping (heavy) Cream (if you have it.  Sometimes I just use 2% milk.)

1/2 cups Sugar

1 t. 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, but I'm totally going to add frozen blackberries the next time I make this!)

Preparation Instructions

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 but 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. (I baked it 1 hour and 15 mins.)

Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup. (Better yet, Buttermilk Syrup!)   You could totally serve this as dessert as well.  Just add some vanilla ice cream and your set to go. )

Buttermilk Syrup

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. corn syrup

1/2 c. buttermilk

1/2 t. baking soda

Bring to a boil. Make in a big pot because it foams up a ton. Boil for about 5 mins until a thick caramel color. Take off heat and add 1/2 t. vanilla. This is to die for. Serve with anything. It is fabulous over fresh fruit, pound cake and peaches, or anything that needs a little sauciness.