French toast in casserole form a treat for Mom
It’s almost Mother’s Day so hey, why not do something for your mother.
Your mom helps you do things you can’t do on your own; she helps organize your day, buys you tasty treats at the grocery store, drives you to sports and to friends’ houses and cooks for you.
In my house we like to make breakfast in bed for my mom on Mother’s Day.
I think French toast is a good way to please your mother and this version is a casserole that’s really easy.
One of the bad things about making regular French toast that it’s really messy, getting your hands in the egg. With this recipe, you don’t stand over a hot skillet constantly flipping the bread and risk getting burned. And you don’t have to worry about burning the French toast.
I found a recipe in Gale Gand’s “Brunch!” cookbook. Her Baked Cinnamon-Apple French Toast called for apples, but I wanted to add my own touch. My mom and my dad love dried apricots and we all also like dried cherries so I added those to the apple mixture.
You put the ingredients together the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator so the bread can soak up all the flavors. When you get up in the morning, put it in the oven and while it bakes you can play video, watch TV or do what ever you do in the morning.
Make sure you clear and wash the dishes too. You don’t want your mom to have to clean up on her day.
A word from Mom: French toast has always been my favorite brunch food and I give Jerome props for knowing that. This recipe, a cross between French toast and bread pudding, can be put together with little parental supervision, especially if you have one of those gadgets that cores and slices apples.
As I’ve grown up, I’ve moved from drenching the golden eggy slices of the traditional version with Aunt Jemima syrup to eating them with a dollop of vanilla yogurt and a smear of lemon curd or strawberry jam. I like this recipe because includes fruit in the mix and it’s sweet enough that your kids won’t even miss the syrup.
Gale Gand suggests serving it with honey butter. We gave it a light dusting of powdered sugar, but I might have to take her up on her suggestion next time.