French Toast Casserole

Ingredients

• 1/2 loaf of bread, cut into cubes and dried overnight*
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup + 1 TBS Raven's Nest Mulling Spice
• Powdered sugar for topping
• Maple syrup for serving, if desired

Directions

1. If baking same day, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Butter a 13x9 inch baking pan and set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and mix until combined and smooth. Pour mixture into pan and spread evenly.
4. Add bread cubes to pan spreading evenly over brown sugar mixture.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and 1/3 cup mulling spices. Pour egg mixture over the bread cubes ensuring all pieces of bread are saturated. Sprinkle with remaining 1 TBS mulling spices.
6. If baking the next time, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until top is golden brown.
8. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve with maple syrup if desired.

*A note on bread: We used a nice loaf of crusty French bread for this recipe. You could also use brioche, sourdough, or another bread of your choice. We highly recommend cutting the bread into cubes before you plan to make the recipe and allowing the bread to dry out overnight, or at least for several hours. This will help prevent the casserole from becoming too soggy and deliver that nice crunchy topping.