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!

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!