Texas French Toast Bake

Technically, I suppose “French” toast isn’t Texan. But this scrumptious French Toast Bake is big and hearty, and the saying goes that everything is bigger in Texas.

What makes this French Toast Bake superb is the use of Texas Toast, in place of regular sliced bread. If you aren’t familiar with Texas Toast, it is typically found in the sliced bread aisle of grocery stores, and the thing about it is… well, it’s Texas-sized. It looks like white bread, sliced extra thick and made extra dense.

I usually buy whole-grain bread, so it’s something special for me to reach for the enriched stuff. Though whole-grain sandwich bread has come a long way in texture and flavor, the white slices brought me back to my childhood. Back when wheat bread tasted like cardboard and my mom kindly bought us white loaves. It’s a special occasion to bite into these Texas soft slices. It’s hard not to cheat and eat the bread straight out of the bag. Just remember that you’ll need to use almost the entire loaf for the French Toast Bake, so try. Just try.

This is one of the most ideal, no-fuss offerings for brunch on Christmas, New Years, or any weekend morning. It’s simple to assemble the night before. Wake up late the next morning, pop it in the oven, and give your family a carefree smile. My family loves anything French Toast-ish, and they flipped for this one. Devoured the whole pan the same day. I’m talking no leftovers, not even a few crumbs.

This Texas French Toast Bake is something that will easily go on your family’s list of favorites. The thick, dense slices of Texas Toast soak up the custard perfectly. The brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon meld together like magic. It’s just the right amount of sweetness. You can serve with pure maple syrup, but you might not need it.

Oh, this is important – be sure to scrape out all the gooey yummy goodness you’ll find on the bottom of pan. Enjoy!

__________________________________________________________________________________

RECIPE (one 9×13 pan)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 loaf Texas Toast

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cup whole milk

1 TB vanilla extract

2 TB light brown sugar, mixed with 2 tsp cinnamon

Powdered sugar for sprinkling

Real maple syrup for serving, if desired

DIRECTIONS

Put butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 20 second increments, stirring in between, until melted. Add 1 cup brown sugar and stir until well incorporated Pour into bottom of a greased 9×13 pan, spreading mixture evenly.

Beat eggs, milk, and vanilla until incorporated. Set aside.

Lay a single layer of Texas Toast in pan, cutting pieces to fit if needed. Spoon 1 cup of egg mixture over bread. Sprinkle with half of the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Repeat with second layer, ending with a sprinkling of brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Cover tightly and chill overnight in fridge.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, covered for the first 30 minutes, and uncovered after that. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. If desired, serve with pure maple syrup.

Yogurt with Pumpkin Swirl

Since pumpkin is in great abundance this fall, I have a good reason to publish another recipe using pumpkin. This yogurt is not only extremely delicious, it’s also extremely healthy as well. It makes perfect breakfast — tasty and satisfying.

Yogurt with Pumpkin Swirl 2 teaspoons organic extra virgin coconut oil 10 drops (or to taste) liquid stevia 1/2 teaspoon ground organic cinnamon 3 tablespoons organic pumpkin 4 oz = 115 g organic Greek or Turkish yogurt (fat content 10%) Directions Melt the coconut oil in a small heatproof dish. Add the stevia and the cinnamon to the coconut oil and mix well. Add the pumpkin and mix well. Put the yogurt in a serving bowl. Add the pumpkin mixture to the serving bowl. Mix gently, creating big swirls.

Nutrition information	Protein	Fat	Net carbs	kcal
One portion:	5.2 g	21.5 g	6.8 g	241 kcal

Tips for making the dish

This is really easy and quick dish to make. Just melt the coconut oil and add the cinnamon and stevia. When those are well mixed, add the pumpkin. Cinnamon and stevia are added first so that they mix well with the coconut oil. Pumpkin is added after that, since it might cause the coconut oil to solidify. This means that the sweetener and cinnamon might not mix well enough at that point, that’s why they are added before pumpkin.

If you are in a hurry, you can omit the coconut oil. Just mix the pumpkin, stevia and cinnamon, and add to the yogurt. Mix gently, creating big swirls. I’ve added the coconut oil because of healthy fats, but you can omit it if you are not fond of coconut oil or if you don’t have time for melting it.

My experiments with the dish

I was planning to publish my stracciatella yogurt recipe, but thought that pumpkin suits better — it’s still fall. No worries, I will publish the stracciatella yogurt recipe in the near future.
I often have yogurt for breakfast, and I was thinking how to get some variation. Since there was plenty of roasted pumpkin in my fridge, I got an idea to use that. I wanted something simple, as always. Somehow a big swirl of pureed pumpkin flashed into my mind.
I wanted to add some richness and good fats. There extra virgin coconut oil came in. I just had to melt it first, which is not a big issue because coconut oil melts at a quite low temperature. I like to use water bath for melting the coconut oil.
Cinnamon to season and then some sweetener. Erythritol might have been too gritty, so I chose unflavored, liquid stevia. That was perfect.

Ideas for variation

Instead of pumpkin, you can use unsweetened applesauce. Just keep in mind that the carb count is higher (10.6 grams net carbs). For less carbs, you can use crushed berries, like raspberries, which are low in carbs. A small amount of crushed cranberries would also fit perfectly, you just might need a bit more sweetener. Cinnamon can be replaced for example with organic vanilla extract if you use berries.

If you use pumpkin, you can replace the cinnamon with pumpkin pie spice, or with your favorite spice mix. A pinch of chili adds a warming, fiery touch — perfect for chilly weather.

Chopped nuts — for example pecans — give even more richness and crunchy texture.

For a real delicacy you can add dark chocolate shavings or dark chocolate chips.

For layered yogurt, add first the pumpkin mixture to a serving bowl, then add gently the yogurt so that it doesn’t mix with the pumpkin, but forms a nice layer.