Baked French Toast Casserole

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients:

For the French Toast

1 loaf of cinnamon raisin bread (Paula used a loaf of French bread)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Dash salt

For the Praline Topping

2 sticks of butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Arrange the bread in a generously buttered 10 by 15-inch flat baking dish in two rows, overlapping the slices.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and salt - beat with a mixer or by hand with a whisk until blended. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, making sure that all of the bread slices are covered evenly with the egg-milk mixture. Spoon some of the mixture between the bread slices. Cover with foil  and refrigerate overnight.

It is morning! What a beautiful day!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put all of the praline topping ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Spread the praline topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 - 45 minutes until the casserole is puffed and lightly golden.

This recipe was delicious! The best part was that the majority of the work was done the night before. It would be a fantastic recipe to serve for a special brunch with some fruit salad.