Saturday, March 28, 2015

Overnight Crème Brûlée French Toast

I need to share this recipe with y’all. I modified it from a recipe on Allrecipes.com. (I needed to use up the cream I had left over from the Pi Day sweet potato pie and white chocolate crème brûlée I made earlier.)

I found this easier and tastier than my stuffed French toast. I could easily prepare this every Thursday night to make my Friday teleworking day that much sweeter!

Grammar and Cupcakes: Overnight Crème Brûlée French Toast


Overnight Crème Brûlée French Toast


Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 35-40 Minutes
Ready In: 9 Hours
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup coconut palm sugar (original recipe called for 1 cup packed brown sugar)
12 slices Pepperidge Farm swirl bread of your choice (or similar from a different brand)
3 eggs
1 cup heavy/whipping cream (you could get away with half & half if that's what you have on hand, but I can't promise it will be as decadent)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons brandy-based orange liqueur
(such as Grand Marnier® - I used Grand Marnier® Signature Collection N° 2 - Raspberry Peach)
¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix in sugar, stirring until dissolved. Pour this caramel sauce into an 8x8 inch baking dish – the disposable foil type works well for this!
2.
Arrange four (4) stacks of bread, three (3) slices per stack, on top of the caramel sauce. In a small or medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, vanilla extract, orange brandy, and salt. Pour over the bread. Cover, and chill at least 8 hours, or overnight. (If the cream and egg mixture comes precariously close to the top of the pan, don’t worry! The bread absorbs much of the tasty goodness while chilling.)
3.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). If using a glass baking dish, check the manufacturer’s instructions/warnings before putting the dish directly into the oven from the fridge. Bringing the dish to near-room-temperature before baking won’t hurt the recipe!
4.
Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until puffed and lightly browned.
5.
Serve by inverting each stack onto a plate. The caramel sauce makes a nice, dark brown topping. Yum! If you have leftovers, they chill and reheat well!

Saturday, March 14, 2015

π - Sweet Potato Pie (Using Coconut Sugar) with Marshmallow Meringue Topping in A "Sugar Cookie" Crust

Last night, my husband asked me, "What are you baking tomorrow?"
I was like:
Huh?
(image found at: http://galleryhip.com/huh?-cat.html)
First I thought he was referring to my nephew's birthday, since he turned one year old today. But then I realized it: Pi Day. I figured it was a good excuse to make the sweet potato pie I didn't get around to making over the holidays.

The pie (Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmallow Meringue Topping) called for a graham cracker crust, but I hate graham cracker crust. I decided to make something like this sugar-cookie-esque crust instead.

In true Sarha fashion, I changed up the recipes.

Sweet Potato Pie (Using Coconut Sugar) with Marshmallow Meringue Topping in A "Sugar Cookie" Crust

Ingredients:
Crust:
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup organic coconut flour
½ cup butter, cut into pieces

Sweet Potato Pie Filling:
3 cups canned sweet potatoes, drained and mashed
1 cup coconut palm sugar
1 cup whipping cream
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Meringue Topping:
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 tablespoon milk
2 egg whites
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt