Maple French Toast With Baked Apple Slices
Baked French toast is a good choice for the holidays when you want a comforting breakfast but don’t have a lot of time. Maple syrup cooks right into the egg-soaked bread for a rich flavor, while sugar and spices coax sweetness from the apple slices.
Get the apples going first and start the toast once they’re in the oven. Since everything bakes together, you won’t have the usual French toast problem of having to cook the slices by the batch and then keep them warm until serving.
Offer country sausage links alongside. And though this is plenty sweet, traditionalists may still crave a side of maple syrup.
Baked apple slices
Place one rack in the bottom of the oven and the other rack in the middle third. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spray a 13x9-inch pan with nonstick spray.
Core the apples and slice them into 1/2-inch slices. Place them in the pan, drizzle the butter over the top and toss to coat. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves in a small bowl and mix well. Sprinkle over the apple slices and stir well to coat.
Bake on the bottom rack of the oven until the apples are tender but not so soft that they fall apart, about 15 minutes, stirring once to mix well.
Maple french toast
Generously butter a baking sheet or a jellyroll pan.
Beat the eggs and salt together in a shallow pan, breaking up the eggs. Add the vanilla, maple syrup and half-and-half and beat to combine.
Use a fork to poke a few holes in each slice of bread. Place the slices, one to two at a time, in the egg mixture and let stand about a minute, turning once. The slices should be saturated but not falling apart. Shake off the excess egg mixture and place the slices on the baking sheet; it’s OK if they’re touching.
Bake until the underside is golden and the slices have puffed up slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, turn the slices over and spread with the butter. Return to the oven and bake until the other side is light brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Place the toast on serving plates and top with the apple slices and their juices.
Get our Cooking newsletter.
Your roundup of inspiring recipes and kitchen tricks.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
