Well since Lauren hasn’t been feeling well I decided to make breakfast this morning. Oh, by the way I’m Lauren’s husband-and I can occasionally cook. So I went ahead and tried something new today-French toast casserole with apples and a caramel (like) glaze.  This is AMAZINGLY easy and was fantastic.

Recipe:

1 loaf Challah Bread, cut into 1 inch slices
1 cup milk
2 cups cream
3 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1 apple (I used a granny smith)

Mix the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, salt, vanilla and cinnamon together in a large bowl. In an 8×8 pan, cover the bottom with challah bread. Any empty spaces should be filled with torn bread. Slice the green apple into thin slices and layer on top of the bottom layer of challah. Cover the challah and apples with another layer of challah bread. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and apples. Cover and let rest over night. This step is A MUST. If you don’t let it sit the mixture won’t soak into the bread well. You’ll also want to make sure that the bread is pushed down so it has good contact with the egg mixture otherwise you might see some burning (I didn’t have the bread pushed down enough and saw some burning).

The next morning take your casserole out and let it warm up on the counter while you prepare the topping. At this time, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Now for the topping:

1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp dark corn syrup or maple syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

In a small saucepan melt the butter and combine with the maple syrup, brown sugar and nuts. At first it won’t fully combine-but if you leave it over the heat and continue to stir it will turn into a delicious almost caramel. Pour the topping over the bread/egg mixture and pop it in the oven for ~45 minutes-but you should check it every 15 minutes or so until a toothpick comes out clean.

Time for breakfast!