Cinnamon-Topped Baked French Toast

On the rare occasions when Bryant and I go out to breakfast or brunch (my favorite meal of the day), I pick up the menu and study it intently, lost in the possibilities of what I should order.  Bryant, however, knows better.  He simply says, "I know you'll be ordering the French toast." And he's right...pretty much every single time. (Of course, we split our meals so I do know that I'll be getting half of a delicious savory breakfast item, too.  But I can't really help that I'm a sucker for French toast.)

So when Bryant and I FINALLY got a quiet Saturday together, I knew I would be celebrating...with French toast.  So I found one of those delicious recipes that I had bookmarked a while ago that looked divine: a cinnamon and sugar topped baked French toast.  I loved that you prepare the night before so we still get a lazy morning together. It was also an incredibly easy recipe to halve or to third (like we did). Served with some fresh strawberries from our CSA box, Grade B maple syrup (maple syrup is a must!), and a side of eggs and bacon, it was exactly the kind of celebratory/lazy/delicious meal I was hoping for.

Cinnamon-Topped Baked French Toast
Taken from: Two Peas and their Pod
Serves 16*
*To halve this recipe to serve 8, halve the ingredients and use an 8x8 baking dish.  To cut this recipe into a third (like we did), cut the ingredients to approximately one-third and then serve in a 4x8 loaf pan (I had a glass loaf pan but a standard loaf pan would work as well).

• 1 loaf French Bread (I used challah)
• 8 large eggs
• 2 cups milk (I used skim)
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream (I used a little whole milk and one tablespoon of butter instead)
• ¾ cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

For Streusel:

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces

1. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Tear French bread into chunks, or cut into cubes,  and evenly place in the pan. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Pour evenly over bread. Cover pan with saran wrap and store in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add butter pieces and cut into the dry mixture using a fork or your hands. Combine until the mixture resembles sand with a few pea sized chunks. Cover and store mixture in the refrigerator.
4. When you’re ready to bake the French toast, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from refrigerator  and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top.  Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the French toast is set and golden brown.
5. Serve warm with maple syrup.