Baked French Toast

I got up at 6 this morning. I know that may not seem so very early to some of you. But for someone who normally rolls out of bed 20 minutes before she needs to leave for work, it was pretty early.

And why, might you ask was I up and about at such an hour? Baked French Toast. That's why. Warm and crunchy with caramel and nuts, it tastes like heaven. Or at least that is what Matthew said when he tried a piece. He also stated, quite accurately, that something this good has to be bad for you.

He was right. This recipe is far from healthy. It is drenched in caramel after all. But is is oh so delicious.

We start with some french bread. Sliced and arranged oh so beautifully in a 9X13 pan. Now if you have lots of time, just let it sit out for a day or so and get nice and stiff. Or, if you are in a bit more of a rush, stick it in the oven for 7 minutes at 400 F to toast it.

In a bowl whisk together your eggs, milk/ cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Or if you forgot to whisk in the cinnamon (me), just sprinkle it on top. 

Pour egg mixture over toasted bread, covering each slice as completely as possible. Some of the liquid will pool at the bottom, don't worry it will soak up.
Let the toast sit for a few hours, or ideally overnight.

In the morning, pop it in the oven (covered in tinfoil) for 20 minutes. While it is cooking, mix up your caramel until big and bubbly. After 20 min pull out the pan, pour on your caramel, sprinkle with nuts and stick it back in the oven for another 20 (uncovered). Enjoy!

Baked French Toast

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

1loaf French bread

6 eggs

1 ½ cups milk or half and half

2 tsp vanilla

1-2 tsp cinnamon

Slice bread, arrange in 9x13. Toast in oven for 7 min at 400 F. Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour over bread. Let sit overnight. I flipped the bread over after a few hours to let the other side soak up some egg stuff.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake for 20 minutes covered with tinfoil. Start caramel mixture.

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 ½ Tbsp light corn syrup

½ cup nuts (pecans, walnuts, ect)

Mix butter, sugar and syrup in saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. Pour over French toast. Sprinkle with nuts. Return pan to oven, uncovered for 20 more minutes.

Voila. Deliciousness. 

And here is a shot of real life. Where I put baked French Toast on my porch to take pictures because that is where there was the best light at 7am. 

Fruit Pizza Tart

I call this a Fruit Pizza Tart because I made it in a tart pan, and not because it is actually a tart. But to tell you the truth I don't really know what qualifies as a tart.
Scratch that, I just googled it. This is what came up.

This dessert is neither a pastry nor a promiscuous woman, so I guess it is not a true tart. Oh well.

We begin with a simple and unassuming sugar cookie.

Homemade dough that is refrigerated for a few hours until nice and firm. Refrigerating cookie dough will help the cookies hold their shape and not spread as much, which is what we want. Try this for cut out cookies too.

Tasty dough is pressed into a tart pan with fingers. Make sure you get the dough all the way up the edge, and don't mind the finger prints, they wont be there long.

See? No finger prints, just a beautiful golden cookie. This sugar cookie crust is so perfect for fruit pizza. It is very soft and chewy and has a buttery goodness about it that will go perfectly with our whipped filling.

After a generous spreading of our whipped filling we are ready for fresh fruit. Use anything and everything. Bananas and strawberries? Yes.
Are you feeling expensive and want to add raspberries? Do it.
Don't like blueberries? (Rhiannon) Well you might want to still add them because they are so colorful, but don't feel bad about picking them off.
My wonderful husband picked up some of these fresh fruits for me, and don't they look nice together?

Just before serving, pop that sucker out of the tart pan so you can see that beautiful scalloped crust.

Slice. Serve. Enjoy.

Fruit Pizza Tart

*Sugar Cookie Crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups butter

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

*Makes two full crusts. If you don’t want that much, just half the recipe or make cookies out of the leftovers.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Gradually stir in flour, soda and salt until just blended. Dough should be pliable but not overly soft. If dough feels too soft add a couple tablespoons flour. Shape dough into disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour and up to overnight.

Flatten dough into tart pan, cake pan, or pizza pan. Make dough as thick as you want your crust to be.

Bake for 16-18 minutes in the preheated oven, until browned at the edges. If you have a thinner crust, watch the cookie carefully as it will cook faster. Also, don’t be alarmed if you peek in the oven halfway through and see a super puffy cookie that looks like it is taking over the pan, it will shrink when you take it out of the oven.

Whipped Filling:

¾ cup heavy whipping cream

3-4 Tablespoons honey

1 block cream cheese- very soft (make sure it is soft, otherwise you will get chunky filling)

Whip whipping cream until soft peaks form, add honey until it is as sweet as you desire. Stir in cream cheese until well blended. Spread filling onto cookie crust and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Just before serving, top with fresh, sliced fruit in a lovely arrangement. Sprinkle with sugar.