Baked Cinnamon Crème Brûlée French Toast with Raspberry Preserves

The hustle and bustle of the Christmas season is no joke.  There are presents to buy and wrap, meals to prep, houses to clean and decorate, family members to be picked up and holiday events to host and attend.  And that's just todays list.🤣  Just thinking about everything that I have left to do before Christmas, makes me tired. 😂 

​I feel like my to-do list is longer than Santa's naughty and nice list.  I love a good list though - no matter how long it may be.  Anyone else find that writing down goals and then crossing them off as you accomplish each one gives you a little endorphin boost?  If you're a list maker, like me - you get it.  

Lists are my kryptonite.   They give me the power to organize and plan.  Some (who shall remain nameless) have described me as an over-planner.😂  What can I say?  I like to be prepared. 🤷🏻‍♀️  And if extreme meal planning is a thing - I'm pretty sure that my strategic menu plan would qualify.  (Hey, Lifetime - this would make a great, new series.  You're welcome.)  Planning meals in advance just makes my life easier and a little less stressful.  

Baked Creme Brûlée French Toast with Raspberry Preserves is the perfect, plan ahead, breakfast treat.  It's delicious enough to serve to guests but it's also something that can be prepped ahead of time.  The raspberry sauce can be made up to a week in advance and I assembled this sweet breakfast bread the day before I wanted to serve it to give the hearty egg bread a chance to soak up all the rich, creamy custard.   All that was left to do in the morning was take it out of the frig and pop it into the oven to bake to sweet perfection.  
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Anything with the words "creme brûlée" sounds fancy and pretentious.  Creme brûlée recipes usually have lots of ingredients, require fancy equipment and have more steps to it than it takes to assemble a barbie dream house.🤣 This recipe is different.  Baked Creme Brûlée French Toast is decadent, elegant and luxurious AND it's actually easy to make. 

Baked Cinnamon Crème Brûlée French Toast with Raspberry Preserves
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
8 large eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier or orange liqueur
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 loaf challah bread
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
10 ounces raspberry preserves
whipped cream, for serving 

Slice challah loaf into thick slices. 

Mix together syrup, brown sugar and butter. Spread into the bottom of a greased 9x13" baking dish. 

Whisk together eggs, milk, Grand Marnier, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. 

Submerge each piece of bread into the egg mixture for at least 1 minute.

Arrange the bread in the dish overlapping. 

Pour the remaining egg mixture over the bread slices.  Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Sprinkle the top of the french toast with sugar and bake 45-50 minutes at 375. 

Combine the raspberry preserves and 1/2 cup water.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes until warm.

Serve french toast with raspberry sauce and whipped cream.

The recipe is so easy - it's almost goof proof.   Assemble your Creme Brûlée French Toast on Christmas eve, tuck it safely away in the refrigerator overnight and then pop it in the oven when you start the coffee in the morning.  Your family will not be disappointed in this scrumptious treat.  

Ciao!

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