Ah the smell of French toast. Nothing like it. And there is that lingering smell for hours in the kitchen. She hates it, so getting her to make French toast requires an inordinate amount of begging.
From the lovely new Just Cook It! by Justin Chapple comes a life-saving — I sometimes exaggerate but … — idea. Use all standard French toast ingredients, but bake it as a casserole. Do not do the “one piece at a time” smoky mess in the conventional matter.
Better yet, Justin suggests assembling the casserole and then letting it sit in the refrigerator overnight. That bread will have been immersed in flavor for hours.
Everybody loves caramelized this-and-that these days, so I happily endorse the ideas of caramelized peaches atop this dish. Fresh, sun-powered peaches are still months away, but you can use frozen peaches. Other fruits would work. Apples cooked in cinnamon. Or bananas, perhaps cooked with a little rum.
Is it wrong to combine French Toast with Bananas Foster? No. No it is not. Ignore all glares.
Use the fruit of your choice, but this peach idea is, well, peachy. Perfect Sunday brunch meal! Add the Bellini.
French Toast Casserole with Caramelized Peaches
Yield: serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
- 1 ¼ pound sourdough boule or challah, cut into 1-inch-thick slices
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out, or
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- Kosher salt
- 3 firm but ripe peaches, cut into ½ -inch wedges
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- Warm maple syrup, for serving
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
- Softened butter for serving [optional, Brian’s idea, not Justin’s]
Preparation:
Butter a 9 by 13-inch oval baking dish and then arrange the bread in slightly
overlapping layers in it.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, vanilla bean seeds or extract, lemon zest, and ½ teaspoon salt. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, gently pressing the bread to submerge it. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the egg mixture has been absorbed by the bread, at least 1 hour but preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Uncover the baking dish and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the center is set but slightly jiggly. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the peaches, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the peaches are tender and browned in spots, 5 to 7 minutes.
Serve the French toast with the caramelized peaches and warm maple syrup, dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
TIP Cutting a peach into wedges—especially when the fruit is still a bit firm- can feel cumbersome. But it doesn’t need to be. Do what I do: Cut the peach into wedges while it’s still on the pit! Using a paring knife, cut one ½ -inch wedge lengthwise into a peach and then wiggle the knife while twisting the knife up to release the wedge. Continue the process all the way around the pit until you cut off your last wedge.
Source: Just Cook It! by Justin Chapple [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018]