Caramel French Toast
This one is a hard one to photograph as the food is all gone before the camera is powered up! This will be perfect to serve to Tom and Larry as Larry embarks on the oh-so-tired Atkins diet.
When I make the Cooks Illustrated Breakfast Strata, there are no leftovers. It is one of the first dishes gone. Creamy, but with a slight bite, full of rich savory flavors, but not heavy, it perfectly fits the bill for brunch and soothes any possible hangovers from the night prior. It was guaranteed compliments and sighs of satisfaction--until it went up against Caramel French Toast, then King Sugar once again showed his reign over the American table.
We had rented the wonderfully refurbished beach house at Alki Beach for some friends’ going away party. It was a perfect June day by any standards, with the sunshine shimmering over the sea, children playing on the beach, and a parasailer soaring the sea breezes. Can you think of a better setting for a going away from Seattle party than where the settlers first landed? There was freshly made biscotti, pastries, fruit, Ezells’ fried chicken, my strata, and of course, Caramel French Toast.
My strata was in a 9x9 pan, and a few slices were gone by the time another guest unobtrusively placed a lasagna pan of bread gilded with brown sugar and butter. Within minutes, entire chunks were gone. As I watched its edges erode like a Florida seawall, and as I took my own second helping, I knew that I had a new favorite to serve at brunch.
Caramel French Toast
It’s a great dish to prepare to take to weekend house parties as no additional syrup or butter is needed, and you don’t need to worry about fickle ovens. And although over 500,000 entries came up when I googled the name, this recipe from that guest is one of the few that calls for an entire tablespoon of vanilla.
1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup butter
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons corn syrup
12 slices multi-grain or Orowheat Oatnut bread, cut into 4 pieces each
4 eggs, beaten
2 ½ cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon
¼ cup butter, melted
1. Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until mixture is bubbly.
2. Pour syrup evenly into a greased 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Arrange half of the bread slices over syrup.
3. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, salt, half of the sugar and half of the cinnamon; stir well. Slowly pour over bread slices. Add the remaing bread slices and pour the remaining egg mixture over them. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle evenly over the soaked bread. Drizzle with the remaining butter.
5. Bake uncovered, at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until brown and bubbly.
BTW: Did French toast get renamed to Freedom Toast?
When I make the Cooks Illustrated Breakfast Strata, there are no leftovers. It is one of the first dishes gone. Creamy, but with a slight bite, full of rich savory flavors, but not heavy, it perfectly fits the bill for brunch and soothes any possible hangovers from the night prior. It was guaranteed compliments and sighs of satisfaction--until it went up against Caramel French Toast, then King Sugar once again showed his reign over the American table.
We had rented the wonderfully refurbished beach house at Alki Beach for some friends’ going away party. It was a perfect June day by any standards, with the sunshine shimmering over the sea, children playing on the beach, and a parasailer soaring the sea breezes. Can you think of a better setting for a going away from Seattle party than where the settlers first landed? There was freshly made biscotti, pastries, fruit, Ezells’ fried chicken, my strata, and of course, Caramel French Toast.
My strata was in a 9x9 pan, and a few slices were gone by the time another guest unobtrusively placed a lasagna pan of bread gilded with brown sugar and butter. Within minutes, entire chunks were gone. As I watched its edges erode like a Florida seawall, and as I took my own second helping, I knew that I had a new favorite to serve at brunch.
Caramel French Toast
It’s a great dish to prepare to take to weekend house parties as no additional syrup or butter is needed, and you don’t need to worry about fickle ovens. And although over 500,000 entries came up when I googled the name, this recipe from that guest is one of the few that calls for an entire tablespoon of vanilla.
1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup butter
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons corn syrup
12 slices multi-grain or Orowheat Oatnut bread, cut into 4 pieces each
4 eggs, beaten
2 ½ cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon
¼ cup butter, melted
1. Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until mixture is bubbly.
2. Pour syrup evenly into a greased 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Arrange half of the bread slices over syrup.
3. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, salt, half of the sugar and half of the cinnamon; stir well. Slowly pour over bread slices. Add the remaing bread slices and pour the remaining egg mixture over them. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle evenly over the soaked bread. Drizzle with the remaining butter.
5. Bake uncovered, at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until brown and bubbly.
BTW: Did French toast get renamed to Freedom Toast?
posted by jaka at 11:50 AM
1 Comments:
I also make a version of baked french toast- delicious and easy. I'll often use the remainder of a baguette from dinner, which works nicely. A big hit along with this is baked bacon sprinkled with a brown sugar/cayenne mixture. Oh, and of course fruit.
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