This baked french toast will be your “go to” brunch recipe from the moment you taste it. I started making this years ago for Easter brunch, and it has become a dish that my family looks forward to all year. It has become such an awaited favorite that I am pretty sure I would be disowned if I ever were to decide to make something else. No joke, it’s that good.
This recipe makes enough for a large and a small glass baking dish of french toast. Since this year it was only the four of us, I started to just prepare one dish and the evil stares I received from my children made me quickly realize that was a bad idea. I guess if you wait 365 days for something, you want as much as you can get. A few days extra of this yummy treat for breakfast was a small price to pay for my children’s happiness.
To make your new brunch favorite you need:
2 large French breads
8 eggs
2 cups of milk
1 1/2 cups half and half
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
Butter a large and a small glass baking dish. Cut the french bread into 1″ – 1/2 ” pieces and arrange in the baking dishes.
Whisk together eggs, milk, half and half, cinnamon and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
Ladle over the bread ensuring that every piece is covered.
Cover and refrigerate overnight so the egg mixture can absorb into the bread.
The next day combine the brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a saucepan over low/medium heat until everything is melted.
Spread the mixture on the french toast until evenly coated. I never use it all, but that is up to you.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, sometimes longer, until the egg is fully cooked. You may need to cover with aluminum foil near the end to prevent excessive browining.
Absolutely delicious! You will see why my family counts down the days until I make this french toast again.
As we approach the weekend, I thought what better time to talk about brunch. Brunch isn’t something I eat often, actually by the time I usually get around to it it’s lupper (lunch + supper). I usually try to be somewhat good when I go out for breakfast or brunch, and order an egg white omelet with no toast. I may say no to toast, but I never say no to home fries. I like to justify that potatoes are vegetables and do not care if they are or aren’t, in my world they are and it’s not up for discussion.
So when I go out and get an egg white omelet with no toast, I’m usually wishing it was something else and therefore don’t take a picture of it. My husband probably does because he is one of those “yum, healthy foods” type of people. I do not get excited when I choose egg whites over hollandaise sauce, trust me. So if you are also one of those “yum, healthy foods” types of people that are hoping to see pictures of melons, you can just stop reading right now, because there will be no melons in this brunch blog.
The photo above is the Avocado & Sweet Potato Fritter Tartine at Tatte Bakery & Café in Harvard Square. I’ve been on an “avocado toast” kick lately, and this one was really good. I’m a huge fan of sweet potatoes, and this was a really good combination of flavors. Although both floors of this café were packed, it had a nice atmosphere and their stairs made me smile as I walked up them. They didn’t make my husband smile when someone bumped into him on the stairs and he spilled his coffee all over himself.
I also really love the Avocado Toast at The Friendly Toast, it’s nice because both pieces are different. One side has this really yummy garlic aioli which is kind of like a distant cousin of hollandaise sauce in my opinion. Oh look, I lied! There is melon in one of my pictures. I didn’t eat it, but it was there. My husband probably ate it. The Friendly Toast is just cool with all the vintage random stuff all over the place, there is always something fun to look at. I haven’t tried the waffles, but I know my daughter loves them and she is a “waffle girl”.
Speaking of waffles, we recently tried two places where I ordered waffles, both of which were great. The first was Amrheins Restaurant in South Boston, which I learned is the oldest Bar is South Boston and I find those things interesting. The Belgiun Waffle was excellent, really light with great flavor and the honey cream was delicious. The other was Zinneken’s Belgian Waffles, we went to the location in Harvard Square. It was a sweet waffle with caramelized sugar. It was delicious! More of a dessert type waffle, and if someone wants to put chocolate on my waffle, I’m sure as heck not going to stop them.
Now let’s get to the good stuff, hollandaise sauce. I just took a moment of silence for whoever the person was that created such creamy goodness. For years I would order the eggs benedict at the Arlington Diner. I haven’t had it in a number of years, but I am going to assume it is still worth getting. Their other breakfasts are great, and that is usually where I order the egg white omelet with spinach and feta, no toast, but yes to their delicious home fries.
Two that I have had recently were at Sound Bites in Somerville, and at Olde Magouns Saloon also in Somerville. At Sound Bites I ordered the Greek Eggs Bene, which had spinach, tomato, and feta cheese. It comes with their version of home fries which is a grilled mashed potato type of thing. It was good, not my favorite, but good. The other was the Blue Ribbon at Olde Magoun’s Saloon, which comes with eggs and pulled pork on top of biscuits. Let me just stop for a second and say “oh my goodness”, crazy good. Anything at Magoun’s is good, brunch, lunch, dinner, whatever, it is amazing. You should just go there all the time.
After seeing all of these photos I can almost guarantee I will be going out for brunch this weekend, and not ordering egg whites. Or melon.
