On week-ends, I will indulge with yummy French bread and croissants. And of course I did just that this past week-end. Unfortunately I was so busy that I did not have time to have breakfast on Sunday so there was a lot of bread leftover by Monday. I don’t like to waste food, so I decided to use this bread for a yummy breakfast casserole that I knew my Theodor would eat;-).

This recipe was presented to me by one of my customer, but I tweaked it a bit.

You may use french bread, or brioche, or even challah, but white bread loaf works the best. It is not too soft, and not to hard so it absorbs the egg mixture really well.

Ingredients for 4:

4 slices of white bread  cut in 1 inch thickness ( which crust has been removed)

• 2/3 stick of butter
• 2/3 cup of brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp of corn syrup
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of half and half
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp of orange extract/ or brandy-flavored based orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier
• 1/8 tsp of salt

First you will want to make the caramel. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and add the brown sugar and corn syrup. Stir until the sugar is dissolving and the mixture is bubbling.

Pour this mixture into the large mold.

Lay the bread over the caramel, and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, the half and half, the vanilla extract, the orange extract, the salt. Pour this mixture over the bread, and place this mold into the fridge to rest for several hours, at least 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 and when the oven has reached the temperature, place the mold and cook the casserole for 20-25 minutes  or until it is fluffy and a little brown.

After taking it out of the oven, let it rest a while so that it will not be so hot. Serve the French toast on individual plates Add a few fresh fruit on top of the French toast, and drizzle some of the caramel off the casserole. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!