This is a great casserole, but do not forget that it needs to be prepared the night before you want to eat it. I went to make this last Christmas for brunch and saw the directions "Refridgerate for 8 hours" Oops! I served this with diced organic Braeburn apples. I will put that at the end of the recipe :)
1 10 oz loaf of french bread cut into 1" cubes ( I used a little more than 10 oz because my pan didn't seem full enough)
8 eggs (I used 1 full container Egg Beaters and 1/4 cup of Egg Beaters)
3 cups milk (use skim milk to make it lower in far, but I used Horizons 2%)
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt (optional)
Topping:
2 tbsp butter or margarine, cubed
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
maple syrup can be used to pour over once plated, but I dusted w/ powdered sugar once it was cool.
Place the bread cubes in a greased 9x13 pan. In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla and salt if you are using it. Pour over the bread evenly. It will look really liquidy, but once it sits overnight, the bread soaks it all up. Cover and stick in the fridge overnight, or at least 8 hours. Take out of the fridge and bring to room temp, around 30 mins before baking.
Dot with the butter (from the topping list). Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it over the top of the dish. Cover w/ foil and bake at 350* for around 50 minutes. Check with a knife in the center to be sure that it comes out clean (no evidence of uncooked eggs). Let stand for 5 mins.
I then took 4 Braeburn apples and diced them up and combined them with about 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon. The juice from the apples makes a syrup. I stuck the bowl in the microwave for about 3 minutes and stirred and checked a piece to see if it was soft. Basically just wing it and microwave until the apples are soft.
Plate the french toast and spoon apples over it if you want to, and then dust w/ powdered sugar. We didn't even need syrup! I served this with Wellshire Farms Chicken Apple breakfast sausage patties.
