French Toast Loaf

Forget having to make just a few pieces of French toast at a time. With French Toast Loaf, you just mix, bake and, when it comes out of the oven, all it needs is a drizzle of warmed syrup and everybody gets to eat together!

Serves: 4

Cooking Time: 1 hr 5 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup (1/2 pint) half-and-half
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 cups bread cubes (see Tips)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9- by 5- inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
    
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except bread cubes; mix well. Stir in bread cubes and allow to sit for 10 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
    
3. Spoon mixture into loaf pan and bake 55 to 60 minutes, or until golden. Remove loaf from pan, slice, and serve.

Tips

You can make this with any type of leftover bread and, for a colorful loaf, you might even want to use a mixture of light and dark varieties. I like to top each slice with a sprinkle of confectioners' sugar and serve with maple syrup and cut fresh fruit.