Monday, May 17, 2010

baked french toast

have i ever told you how much i LOVE french toast? despite this, i almost never make it, and the few times I have, its never been as good as what you get at most diners (although i also love diners, and the atmosphere can make sub-par french toast delicious. my favorite french toast was when rita and i went to the java house for lunch one day, and made friends with the old man who worked there, who came over and chided us for not putting enough syrup on our toast, then proceeded to douse the toast in about 5 pounds of syrup).

so for our belated mother's day brunch, after much debate, we decided on french toast, but knew we had to step it up.
not only is this recipe super simple and delicious, its baked so you can all enjoy brunch together instead of making each slice of toast to order.

baked french toast serves 6 adapted from smitten kitchen
*1 loaf challah
*3 cups milk (we used fat free)
*3 eggs
*3 Tablespoons sugar, plus about 1 teaspoon extra for sprinkling on top
*1/2 teaspoon salt
* about 2 teaspoons cinnamon
*pecans (about 1 large handful)
*raisins (about 1 large handful)
*1 banana, sliced (optional)
1. grease a baking dish.
2. slice challah into 1 inch pieces. arrange in baking dish, packing tightly. you can also layer if necessary.
3. sprinkle pecans and raisins on top. you can also put the pecans and raisins between layers if you want. i recommend squishing them between the slices of bread.
3. whisk together milk, eggs, sugar and salt in a large bowl. pour over bread.
4. sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over everything.
5. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
6. bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes. add slices of banana on top and bake for 10 more minutes.
7. cut, serve, and enjoy! we served ours with more sliced banana, strawberries, pecans, powdered sugar, and syrup.
-Lola

10 comments:

Aisling said...

This looks like such a wonderfully delicious and decadent treat! Pecans and raisins are definitely going to feature in any French Toast I make from now on :)

Deanna said...

I just made a baked french toast for a bridal shower and it was fantastic. Before you put it in the oven, it had a sauce made from brown sugar, butter and corn syrup poured over the top that formed a crunchy crust. I think the recipe was Martha Stewart'.

Jenn Shagrin said...

Thank you so much!

Wow that French Toast looks amazing :)

Katie ♥ said...

French Toast ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are making me hungry!!

I love stuffed french toast too, yum!

Have a great night!!!!!

Farty Girl said...

Challah bread is my favorite bread ever! Wish I could still eat it. Definitely the best bread for breakfast frenchies.

Erica said...

WOW! This looks like it turned out awesome! What a great treat for mama's day!

RamblingTart said...

Ohhh, I've never tried baked French Toast before, just the usual griddle style. This sounds marvelous. :-)

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

French toast is one of those things that I wish I didn't like but I just love its squidgy, eggy texture! Your version looks great!

Michele said...

What a fabulous French toast recipe. Yum!

erica said...

Oh my gosh, I want to take a bit of this french toast right now. This looks awesome. I so want to make this!