Challah French Toast Breakfast Bake

With Easter around the corner, I thought I'd share one of my yummy Sunday brunch concoctions. I had a loaf of challah bread that I'd pretty much forgotten about, and Ky was in the mood for french toast, so I decided to whip together a caramel-sauced, challah bread breakfast bake.

You can make this the night before if you want to just wake up and pop it in the oven.

Challah French Toast Breakfast Bake with Caramel Sauce

serves 5-6 (or 4 ridiculously hungry people)

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf challah bread (I prefer the kind without raisins, but get whatever you like.)
• 2 cups milk (I used skim, but you can use whatever you like)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 2 Tb sugar
• 4Tb sugar (set aside for carmel sauce.)

Directions:

• Place a small saucepan on medium-low heat.
• Put the 4Tb of sugar in the small saucepan with 3Tb water.
• Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until golden.
• Once golden, turn off heat. (by the time the caramel is done, the prep for the challah should be done and it should be ready to be poured on.)
• Preheat your oven to 350- degrees
• Slice the challah bread into thick slices.
• Place in a 9x11 or 9x13 rectangular cake pan.
• Whisk all of the ingredients together and pour over the bread. 
• If you aren't making it the night before, allow the mixture to soak into the bread for at least ten minutes.
• Pour the caramel sauce onto the bread.  It may get hard.  Don't worry about that, it'll be yummy and gooey when you take it out of the oven.
• Put the bake in the oven and cook for twenty minutes, or until your challah is a nice golden brown (and your house smells like heaven!) *trust your nose.  If it smells done, it usually is.

As I've said before, holidays are about spending time with your family- not about losing your mind trying to prepare something amazing, while missing out on family time.  Enjoy your holiday!  (and impress them with this super easy meal at the same time!)

*I don't think this is a bacon necessary meal.  HOWEVER, some might.  If you do feel that way, you can bake the bacon at the same time as the bake, and it will all come out ready at about the same time (depending on how you like your bacon).  Cooking both in the oven at the same time will save you time and clean up.

Nigella's Caramel Croissant Pudding

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love breakfast.  When I came across this Nigella's Express recipe with stale croissants, caramel and custard, well, I have to say I swooned.  While I'm not normally a sweets person, especially not for breakfast, I love caramel, and I just knew Kyle and Laela would really enjoy it.  After all, does Nigella ever share bad recipes?  I think not.

I'm going to warn you.  This is one seriously decadent breakfast, and I'm pretty sure it's in NO way healthy.  But it's totally worth the indulgence.

Nigella's Caramel Croissant Pudding

Ingredients:

• 2 stale croissants
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 2 eggs, beaten

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350- degrees.
• Tear the croissants into pieces and put ina  small gratin dish; I use a cast-iron oval one with a capacity of about 2 cups for this.
• Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, and swirl around to help desolve teh sugar before putting the saucepan on the burner over medium high heat.
• Carmelize the sugar and water mixture by letting it bubble away until it al turns a deep amber color; this will take 3-5 minutes.  Keep looking, but don't be too timid.
• Turn the heat down to low and add the cream- ignoring all spluttering- and, whisking, the mnilk and bourbon.  Any solid toffee that forms in the pan will dissolve easily if you keep whisking over low heat.  Take off the heat, and still whisking, add the beaten eggs.  Pour the caramel bourbon custard over the croissants and leave to steep for 10 minutes if the croissants are very stale.
• Place in preheated oven for 20 minutes and prepare to swoon.

Nigella says this serves 2 greedy people, but I think it could serve 4 with a salad, since it's so rich.

And no, I didn't get any pictures of this one.  It disappeared faster than I could get the camera!