Baked French Toast with Caramel Glaze

I really enjoy french toast, but I tend to be a bit picky about it as well. I don't like it too "eggy" and definitely not soggy, plus I'm always wondering if it's cooked enough in the middle. For this reason, the concept of a baked french toast has really appealed to me. My thinking was that if it's baked in the oven, then for sure it would be cooked through. So after searching through probably 30 different french toast recipes online, I found one that accommodated my tastes.

 I found this recipe at Southington Patch, and modified it a bit after making it three times, to get the consistency I desired, and then added a quick homemade caramel glaze to the top.

Here is what you need:
1 16 oz. loaf of Italian bread
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 T vanilla

1/2 cup of butter, melted
3/4 cup of brown sugar, packed

Pecan topping
3/4 cup chopped pecans
4 T butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

Caramel glaze (from Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2010)
2 T butter
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 T milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Slice bread into 1 1/2 inch slices and lay them flat in a 9x13 inch casserole pan.

  Mix eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla in a bowl and then pour the mixture over the bread slices.

 Cover and refrigerate. After a couple of hours flip the bread slices over so they will soak up the remaining egg mixture, then let sit over night or for at least four or so hours.
Now here is where I did things a little differently, I took the soaked slices out of the pan and stacked them on a plate while I washed and dried the pan (the reason I did this was because the first two times I made this, I ended up with a layer of egg on the bottom of the pan which I did not want).

Mix the melted butter and brown sugar together and pour into the bottom of the greased casserole dish, then lay your soaked bread slices back in on top of the mixture.

Mix pecans, melted butter and brown sugar together, and then dabble over the top of the french toast slices. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

  To make the glaze, melt the butter in a little pan, and stir in the brown sugar. Heat to boiling while stirring, and boil for two minutes, and then stir in the milk and bring to a boil again. Remove from heat and let cool, then stir in the powdered sugar. I had to add more than the 1 Tablespoon of milk to get a glazing consistency especially if it sits for a few minutes.
 When the french toast is done baking and you are ready to serve, drizzle the glaze over each slice.

This was so scrumptious, chewy and sweet on the bottom, and with the glaze on top there is no need for syrup. The pecans were toasted and crunchy,  just delicious.
Hope you enjoy!
Printable recipe

Blessings,

Linking to some of these fun linking parties:

The Shabby Nest ,  Fingerprints on the Fridge ,  Chic on a Shoestring  Life as Mom ,  Miss Mustard Seed ,  Tidy Mom ,  Whipperberry ,  At the Picket Fence ,  French Country Cottage  30 Handmade Days ,  Creation Corner ,  Finding Fabulous ,  Just a Girl ,  Stuff and Nonsense ,  Naptime Crafters Tatertots and Jello, My Romantic Home , While He was Napping Saturday:  Funky Junk Interiors,  Young and Crafty ,  Be Different, Act Normal ,  A Vision to Remember  Sunday:  Under the Table and Dreaming ,  DIY Showoff ,  Nifty Thrifty Things,  Homemaker on a Dime , Monday:  Skip to my Lou ,  Craft O Maniac ,  Sumo's Sweet Stuff ,  It's so Very Cheri ,  Keeping it Simple,  Creating Really Awesome Free Things Dittle Dattle,  Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms  ,  Between Naps on the Porch ,  The Girl Creative      Singing Three Little Birds ,  Mad in Crafts , Organize with Sandy ,  Ask Anna  Tuesday:  Polly Want a Crafter ,  Coastal Charm,  A Bowl Full of Lemons ,  Tip Junkie ,  Sugar Bee Crafts ,  Not Just a Housewife ,  Today's Creative Blog ,  Balancing Beauty and Bedlam ,  5 Minutes for Mom ,  Funky Polkadot Giraffe ,  All Thingz Related ,  DIY by Design   Lil Luna,  Blue Cricket Design,  Hope Studios ,  Reasons to Skip the Housework , Time Warp Wife , Chef in Training Wednesday: Raising Homemakers , Crystal & Co. ,  We Are THAT Family ,  Women Living Well , The Trendy Treehouse , Passionately Artistic ,  Night Owl Crafting ,  Feeding Four ,  Handy Man, Crafty Woman  Someday Crafts ,  Fabric Bows and More ,  This Chick Cooks ,  Seven Thirty Three,  Sew Much Ado ,  Sugar & Dots A Creative Princess ,  Dragonfly Designs ,  Beyond the Picket Fence ,  The Thrifty Home ,  Creations by Kara,Gingersnap Crafts ,  A Little Tipsy ,  Thursday: Shabby Creek Cottage  ,  Diaper Diaries ,  Delightful Order ,  Somewhat Simple ,  House of Hepworths,  Saved by Love Creations ,  Feeding Four ,  It's a Keeper ,  Thrifty Decorating ,  The Frugal Girls ,  Miz Helen's Country Cottage , Little Knick Knack ,  The Thirty Sixth Avenue, Raising Mighty Arrows

I'm an organizing junkie