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Hello, breakfast!
22 December 2009
Bananas Foster is one of my favorite desserts. There are few desserts, if any, that I would ever choose if given an option. Something about the bananas being sautéed and coated in the butter and brown sugar, that splash of dark rum, vanilla, and then a hint of cinnamon, and even some orange zest … oh my, it’s an ethereal sensation for me just thinking about it.
Those flavors were on my mind several days ago as I was considering breakfast and brunch dishes. This time of year is great for treating ourselves to at least one lazy weekend morning. Whether due to a hectic week of deadlines and holiday shopping, or perhaps a late night of celebrating and overindulgence, languishing over a hot baked breakfast dish could be just the remedy for recharging the soul.
Mulling all of that over, I arrived at what turned out to be one of the best things to come out of my self proclaimed ‘test kitchen’ in months. It was so good, in fact, that after my three boys inhaled theirs, and my husband made a feudal attempt at restricting himself to only one serving, by 8:45 that Saturday morning I had packed up two generous servings of it (still hot, too!) for delivery a few doors down. Yes, one of the brothers-in-law (a favorite, actually) and his wife were greeted that morning by my husband yielding a container ready for them to have breakfast in bed. Actually, I believe it simply served as a great way to get a day of Christmas shopping started, but still … by all accounts, this one was a hit.
So, what was it? My own little creation of Bananas Foster Baked French Toast. Can you just imagine where I’m going with this? Having a large loaf of Italian bread on hand was a God send. Keeping my over ripened bananas in the freezer until ready to use worked out to be wonderfully handy. And, my craving for the taste of butter and brown sugar helped me arrive at something to be prepared again and again. The bottom layer of bread was dredged in the usual custard mixture I use for French toast, then a layer of mashed up, jazzed up bananas, another layer of the bread dredged in the custard, and sprinkled with brown sugar and dotted with butter. The top got beautifully crisp, and toasted, without becoming hard or too crusty. Underneath was an amazingly cloud like pudding sort of texture holding all of the flavors for which I had been hoping to capture. This easily made enough for 6-8 people, and I see no reason why it could not be assembled the night before and slipped into a pre-heated oven the next morning.
Bananas Foster Baked French Toast
| 1 Loaf French Bread |
| 6 Eggs (Beaten) |
| 1 c milk |
| 1 t vanilla |
| 1 t cinnamon |
| 1-2 T orange juice or orange liqueur (Grand Marnier, Triple Sec, etc.) |
| 1 T Myers Dark Rum (optional) |
| 1 t nutmeg |
| ¼ c brown sugar |
| ¼t salt |
Banana filling
| 3 ripe bananas |
| 1 t cinnamon |
| 2 T brown sugar |
Method
Slice the bread on a bias in 1 inch thick slices.
Mash the bananas, cinnamon and brown sugar together and set aside.
Mix all of the following ingredients together. Butter a 9” x 13” casserole (or the equivalent). Dredge each slice of bread in the custard mixture, and place one layer on the bottom of the prepared dish. Evenly spread the banana mixture on top. Then dredge the remaining slices of bread in the custard mixture and place on the top. Evenly distribute any remaining custard mixture over that top layer. Sprinkle with brown sugar and dot with butter.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, and bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes. (May be made as far as 12 hours in advance and refrigerated, however, it should be brought to room temperature before baking.)
Serve with maple syrup, or whatever you would normally prefer on French toast.
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