Overnight Baked French Toast

With its glorious brown-sugar crust, this rich, eggy French toast is a beautiful choice for company—and it’s made with very little effort. Garnish with a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar and fresh berries.

12 slices firm white bread

6 large eggs

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch salt

1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 tablespoon maple syrup

• Arrange bread slices in four stacks in 8-inch square baking dish.
• In blender, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and blend until mixture is smooth. Slowly pour egg mixture over bread slices; press bread down to absorb egg mixture, spooning egg mixture over any uncoated bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, stir brown sugar, butter, and maple syrup until combined. Spread evenly over each stack of bread. Bake until knife inserted 1 inch from center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

To serve, cut each stack diagonally in half.

Makes 8 servings.

Prep: 10 minutes plus overnight to chill

Bake: 1 hour