WCC #4: French Toast Baked in Honey-Pecan Sauce

This recipe is very decadent and pretty easy. You need to know you want it the night before but that’s not really asking too much. This is for Weekend Cookbook Challenge #4: Easter Brunch and although we had this before Easter (and the post isn’t due until April 17), it’s now out there and available for people trying to get ideas for their own Easter (or any) brunch.

It’s from Intercourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook and this is only the second time I’ve made anything from this one. I have lots of the pages folded down, though. All of the recipes sound pretty good and are on the indulgent side, which is obviously, the theme of the book. What I have made — the pasta with gorgonzola, as asparagus and chicken and this french toast have been wonderful.

French toast attack!
You might think to yourself, “Oh, my, that looks so rich. I just couldn’t…” Well, yes, of course it’s rich and uh, hello — of course you could. You start the night before by soaking your stale, thick cut, french or sourdough bread in the half and half and egg mixture. The next morning, honey, syrup and brown sugar is whisked together, pecans added and soaked bread laid down. The baking dish is popped in the oven and a bit later you are in heaven. We had ours with crisp, applewood smoked bacon and papaya mimosas — because we are crazy. But, hey, we added diced apple on top, so there.

Thanks as always to Weekend Cookbook Challenge for hosting these events and for coming up with such fun themes! Now, on to the brunch…

French Toast Baked in Honey-Pecan Sauce
4 thick slices of stale French, Italian or sourdough bread (Mine had been left out on the counter in a paper bread bag for about 5 days — it was S-T-A-L-E and hard to cut. I might suggest that you slice the bread when it’s fresh, then let it stale-ify for a few days)

Egg Mixture
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup half and half
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sauce
1/4 cup butter (1/2 a stick)
1/4 cup brown sugar, melted
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup pecans
Garnish: 1 Granny Smith apple, diced

The night before, combine eggs, half and half, 1/2 tbsp brown sugar and vanilla in a small bowl.

Pour half of the mixture into a baking dish. Place the bread slices in the dish and top with the rest of the half and half/egg mixture. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, overnight.

In the morning
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the soaked bread slices from the baking dish and set aside. The bread slices will have soaked up a lot of the egg mixture. Wash dish out and dry it so you can re-use it for baking. Add melted butter, brown sugar, honey, syrup. Whisk to combine. Add soaked bread slices. Move around in the sauce and then flip over.

Cover with pecans and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until golden. Divide toast onto plates and drizzle with whatever sauce is left in the baking dish. Serve topped with some diced apple.

A close-up of the gooey goodness

This goes excellently with a pitcher of mimosas and extra crispy bacon! (But then, what doesn’t?)