Baked French Toast Casserole

I made this baked french toast casserole for my dad over the weekend for Father's Day along with potatoes and sausage! His favorite meal of the day is breakfast and this casserole turned out  really, really fantastic and we both enjoyed it!

It was sweet, but, not too sweet and the middle was  soft and oh so fluffy and it had a great cinnamony flavor with a hint of nutmeg. The top and the sides of the casserole were slightly crunchy from the topping of brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup that caramelized so perfectly on top. The topping also dripped in between the slices of bread giving it a gooey syrupy filling which was sooo good! I garnished it with powdered sugar and strawberries and served it with maple syrup and some leftover strawberry sauce that I had.

Baked French Toast Casserole: (Paula Deen; adapted by me; I halved the recipe and made a few other changes in the praline topping. For Paula's recipe go to Here to find it!)

Ingredients:

-8-10 ounces of French bread (I bought a 16 ounce loaf and cut it in half and used a little bit extra)

-butter for pan

-4 large eggs

-1 cup half-and-half

-1/2 cup milk

-1 tablespoon sugar

-1/2 tablespoon vanilla

-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

-Praline Topping, recipe follows

Directions:

Slice french bread into 1-inch thick slices. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9x9-inch baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg and beat with a whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate over night.

The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes (cover the baking pan with foil for the first 20-25 minutes and then take the foil off and finish cooking the last 20 minutes to prevent the top from burning), until puffed and lightly golden.  Serve with syrup and desired toppings.

Praline Topping:

-1/2 stick butter

-1/4 cup packed brown sugar

-1 tablespoon light crn syrup

-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend well. Spread over bread as directed above.