Tag Archives: french toast

Fruited Baked French Toast

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch and tagged with , , , , , ,
Fruited Baked French Toast

Fruited Baked French Toast

Even though I already have several recipes  for  baked french toast here on the blog, I just had to include this one too. It is a little out of the ordinary because it includes fruit(s), and I had never encountered a recipe like it before.  Thanks to my daughter, who we visited over the Christmas holidays, we had this for breakfast on Christmas morning.  Everyone agreed it was just delicious.  Some of us liked it with a little (read, a lot of) maple syrup on it, others thought it was just right without any added sweetener on it.  What I particularly liked was the “tang” from the berries that you get in every bite.  And the cinnamon crumb topping on it is an added bonus.  This is definitely a recipe you will want to save and make again and again whether it be for guests or a special weekend breakfast.

As I’ve said before, this type of breakfast casserole is perfect for a late breakfast or brunch when you are entertaining, because you can make as much or as little as you need.  Slice up the bread the evening before and soak it overnight in the egg/milk mixture.  Then in the morning, make up the crumb mixture, sprinkle on the berries and the crumb topping and bake until golden brown.  Pretty simple to make really, and awesomely good.  This one just became my new favorite recipe for baked french toast.

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FRUITED BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Yield:    8 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 small loaf day-old French bread (8-9 oz.)
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2  1/4 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 6 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries ( We used mixed berries, and cut the larger pieces in half.)

Directions:

1.  Grease 13″ x 9″ baking dish.  Slice the bread diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices. Pack them tightly into the baking dish.

Cut up bread and fit tightly into the baking dish.

Cut up bread and fit tightly into the baking dish.

2.  In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla.  Whisk in the milk until well blended.  Pour this mixture over the bread in the baking dish, turning over the slices to saturate well.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3.  Heat oven to 375*F.  In a small bowl combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Measure out topping ingredients.

Measure out topping ingredients.

Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs….

Cutting in the butter.

Cutting in the butter.

4.  Turn bread slices over in the baking dish.  Scatter berries over the bread and sprinkle with the crumb mixture.  Bake about 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle fruit, then crumbs over the bread/egg mixture.

Sprinkle fruit, then crumbs over the bread/egg mixture.

Browning up in the oven.

Browning up in the oven.

5.  Before serving, cut into squares and serve with syrup.

This is so delicious. :D

This is so delicious. 😀

SOURCE:   Unknown.

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Croissant French Toast

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast and tagged with , , , , ,
Baked Croissant French Toast

Baked Croissant French Toast

I love using croissants to make fresh-tasting sandwiches, especially with egg salad.  But after a day or two if they have not been used up croissants start to dry out and lose their appeal.  Finding myself in that situation, I thought, why not make French Toast with them?IMG_5518

The one thing I was uncertain about was what form  should the croissant be in,  i.e.. left whole, broken up into pieces?  So I went where everyone goes for answers, the internet!  Into the Google search window I typed ” French Toast made with croissants”. and up came a whole load of sites, as you would expect.  Selecting one that seemed to have some promise, I ended up on a site called “Yummly”, and a recipe from Rachael Ray.  This gave me all the information I needed to proceed, and a fantastic new slant on baked french toast.   So here it is,  a  french toast that is very light and airy, nicely flavored with maple syrup, and baked till brown and crispy on top.

I wanted this for Sunday morning breakfast, and so I prepared the recipe the evening before and refrigerated it overnight.  Pop it in the oven to bake while having a first cup of coffee, and in about 35 – 45 minutes you can be sitting down to this extremely enjoyable breakfast, with a serving of fruit on the side.   Dee-lish!

CROISSANT FRENCH TOAST

Yield:   makes 6 servingsIMG_5515

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 cups milk  ( any kind  is okay.)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 5 croissants, cut in half horizontally

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350* F. Butter a  cake pan appropriately sized.  ( 9″ round,  8″ x 12″ rectangle)

2.  In a small heavy saucepan, bring the sugar, 2 Tablespoons maple syrup, and 1/2 cup water to a boil over medium-high heat, without stirring, and cook for about 5 minutes.  Boil until the caramel is a light golden color or a candy thermometer registers 240 degrees, 5 – 8 minutes longer  Working quickly and carefully, remove the thermometer and pour the maple caramel into the prepared cake pan.    Set aside.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk the milk, eggs and the remaining 1/4 cup maple syrup.  Arrange the croissants over the maple caramel in the baking dish.  Slowly pour the egg mixture over the top making sure to moisten all of the bread.  Press down gently to flatten.  Wait about 10 minutes, then go back and flatten again.  The dish may be baked at this time, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to bake it.  Before baking press down on the croissants again .

4.  Prior to baking sprinkle a cinnamon sugar mixture all over the top to create a sugary, crisp topping.  (This is my addition to the recipe,)  Bake at 350* for 35 – 45 minutes until custard is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Browned and crispy on top.

Browned and crispy on top.

Remove from the oven , cut into wedges or squares, and serve with butter and additional maple syrup if desired.

Serve with butter, maple syrup and a side of fruit.

Serve with butter, maple syrup and a side of fruit.

TIP:   Swap out the croissants and use raisin bread or cake doughnuts instead.

SOURCE:   Everyday with Rachael Ray via Yummly.com

Baked Coconut French Toast with Tropical Fruit Compote

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch and tagged with , , , , , ,
Baked Coconut French Toast with Fruit Compote

Baked Coconut French Toast with Fruit Compote

We are now officially into summer.   The weather is sunny, hot and beautiful; and I’m cooking up something special for our breakfast.  Something with a tropical vibe to it.

What started me down this path was a recent purchase  of a large bag of unsweetened, flaked coconut, (read, large flakes),  by Bob’s Red Mill.  Don’t ask why I bought this when I already have two bags of the standard, sweetened flaked coconut on hand.  In addition, I’m not one to use a lot of coconut, even though we like it, because of my concern for the oil content.  Well, not everything I do always makes perfect sense, so now I must devise ways to use coconut.  Expect to see more recipes featuring coconut popping up in the near future. 😀

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Baked French Toast, a somewhat “showy” breakfast, is really easy for me to serve on a weekend morning.  I assemble it all the evening before, put it in the fridge overnight, and just take it out and bake it in the morning.  While the toast is baking, I put together a fruit mixture, that I’ll loosely call a Tropical Fruit Compote, so you’ll think I really spent a lot of time planning for how this was all going to go together.   😀

The French Toast and fruit mixture complemented each other nicely  and provided a “summery” feeling to a breakfast that we enjoyed eating out on the deck.IMG_4379

BAKED COCONUT FRENCH TOAST

Yield:   Serves 4

For the Toast:

  • 8 slices ( 1/2- inch thick ) diagonally cut Italian bread
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 1/4 cups coconut milk ( or almond milk)
  • 4 large eggs, or 1 1/4 cups egg substitute
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract ( to increase coconut flavor, use coconut extract)
  • 1/2 cup flaked coconut

1.  Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.   Arrange the bread slices snugly in the dish.

2.  Combine the milk, eggs or egg substitute, sugar and vanilla, stirring with a whisk.  Pour evenly over the bread.  Turn the bread slices over to coat evenly.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

3.  Preheat oven to 375*F.  Remove bread mixture from refrigerator, uncover, and turn bread slices over.  Sprinkle evenly with coconut.  Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle on coconut before baking.

Sprinkle on coconut before baking.

4.  Bake, uncovered, at 375*F for 30 minutes or until coconut is golden.  Serve warm with fruit compote.

Just out of the oven--smells wonderful!

Just out of the oven–smells wonderful!

For the compote:

Colorful fruits go into the compote.

Colorful fruits go into the compote.

  • 1 mango, peeled and cut into cubes
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
  • 1 dark purple plum, pitted and sliced
  • 1 large kiwi, peeled, and sliced
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

Combine all ingredients.  Cover and chill over night,  or prepare while toast is baking.  Serve alongside the French Toast.

A Tropical Breakfast

A Tropical Breakfast

SOURCE:   Taste of Home

Baked Coconut French Toast

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Baked Coconut French Toast

Weekday mornings are so rushed with getting ready for work, breakfast is usually something quick like a scone or granola bar with coffee.  But on the weekend I like to make more complete breakfasts, to be enjoyed more leisurely.  This weekend I made this recipe for a baked French Toast that was fantastic!

The recipe was one that I had clipped out of a magazine some time ago and tucked into one of my (many) recipe books and forgot about.  While I was looking for another recipe this one fell out onto my lap.  When this kind of thing happens I take it as a sign that now is the right time to make it, and so I did.

Oh, what we’ve been missing all this time!…a little rich, a little high in fat and carbs, but we can fix that.  I’m printing the recipe as it was written, and then including my modifications for cutting back on fat, and sugar.  Here we go—-

BAKED COCONUT FRENCH TOAST

YIELD:  8 servings, 2 slices of French Toast

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 French bread baguette, (10 ounce size), sliced diagonally, 1-inch thick

  • Diagonally sliced French baguette

  •  cooking spray

  • 1 1/4 cups coconut milk  ( I used light coconut milk–less saturated fat)
  • 4 large eggs ( substitute with 1 1/4 cups egg substitute, or 2 eggs and 1/2 cup egg substitute)
  • 1/2 cup sugar  (you can reduce to 1/4 cup, especially if using syrup on your toast)
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut

1.  Arrange the slices of bread in a single layer in a 13″ x 9″ bake pan,  or 12″ x 8″ pan coated with cooking spray.

Arrange Bread slices in baking pan.

2.  Combine the coconut milk, eggs or egg substitute, sugar and vanilla, stirring with a whisk, and pour evenly over the bread slices.  Turn the bread over to coat both sides.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Pour egg and milk mixture over bread slices.

3.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4.  Remove bread from refrigerator, and uncover.  Turn bread slices over, and sprinkle evenly with  flaked coconut.  Let it stand at room temperature 15 minutes.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 minutes or until coconut is golden.

Turn bread over and sprinkle with coconut before baking.

Serve warm with a fresh fruit compote to complete a very enjoyable breakfast or brunch.

Serve with fresh fruit compote.

SOURCE:   Unknown

Banana-Chocolate-Hazelnut French Toast

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I don’t know why, but when I’m on vacation, I really enjoy having breakfast out.  Eating something rather sumptuous  that I didn’t make is such a treat.   Even coffee made by someone else tastes extra special to me.  Well, one recent weekend, I found that I had some ripe bananas that needed to be eaten or used, and at the same time an almost empty jar of chocolate-hazelnut spread.  Normally, I would have had a teaspoon in that jar in a  split second, eating the last of it right off the spoon,  but just in the nick of time I remembered once on vacation when I ordered “Stuffed French Toast”.  The filling was sliced bananas and peanut butter.  It was delicious, and I ate every last crumb.  I thought to myself, if peanut butter was so good , well then, hazelnut spread with chocolate must be as good or better, wouldn’t you agree?

So I tried it out and  yep, I was right!  If you have kids at your house I feel pretty sure they will like this, in fact kids of all ages will like it.  Pair this dish with a bowl of mixed fresh fruits to round out the meal.

Let me also add that in spite of the fact that the recipe may at  first sound high calorie, it really isn’t because I use skim milk, no butter, only 2 eggs (and  you could use egg-beaters instead to further lower cholesterol and calories) and  I get in some fiber by using whole-grain bread.  The recipe serves 4, and the calorie total as I make it comes to somewhere between 360-380 calories.  That’s less than 1/3 of a 1200 calorie diet.  A serving consists of 3 triangles of the stuffed toast, dusted with powdered sugar.  It is quite filling; you feel like you’ve had a special treat.

INGREDIENT LIST:

  • 1/4 cup skim milk
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 6 slices whole grain bread
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons chocolate-hazelnut spread ( such as Nutella)
  • 1 cup thinly sliced banana
  •  2 teaspoons canola oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered sugar
  1.  Combine first 5 ingredients in a shallow dish.
  2. Spread each of 3 bread slices with 1 1/2 tablespoon chocolate hazelnut spread; arrange 1/3 of the banana slices on each slice of bread.  Top sandwiches with remaining 3 bread slices.
  3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Working with one sandwich at a time, place into egg mixture, carefully turn over to coat other side and then place into pan. Cook sandwiches about 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
  4. Cut each sandwich into 4 triangles.  Place 3 triangles attractively on each plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Garnish with fruit or serve with a cup of mixed fruits.

SOURCE:  This is a riff on someone else’s recipe. I can’t take credit for this one, although I did modify it to be more diet friendly.