Ingredients
Bacon:
- 1 pounds applewood smoked bacon
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Toast:
- 8 large eggs
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 pinches salt
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 cups corn flakes, lightly crushed
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly crushed
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 12 (1 1/2-inch-thick) slices challah bread or soft "Italian" style bread
- Medium or dark amber maple syrup to pass at table
- Mint sprigs and edible flowers, suggested plate garnish
Fancy Fruit Topping:
- 1 large navel orange, peeled and chopped
- 12 large strawberries, sliced
- 1/2 pint blueberries
- 1/2 pint raspberries
- 1/2 pint blackberries
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Arrange bacon on slotted broiler pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and place in oven to bake until crisp, 20 to 22 minutes.
Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
In a shallow dish, beat together with a wire whisk: eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon. In a second shallow dish combine flakes and nuts. Add 2 tablespoons butter to warm skillet. Place a cookie sheet lined with foil (for easy clean-up) near the stove. Coat 4 to 6 slices of bread in egg, depending on the size of your skillet, then coat bread in cornflakes and nuts. Cook slices 2 minutes on each side and transfer toast to cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining slices and transfer toast to oven. Bake 10 minutes, with already cooking bacon.
While bacon and toast are in oven, combine fruit, sugar and liqueur in a serving bowl and reserve.
Remove toast and bacon from oven. Warm syrup in a small pitcher in microwave 15 seconds on high. Serve toast and bacon on plates with optional garnish of mint and edible flowers.
Pass syrup and topping at the table.
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By cltmike
on May 13, 2012
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Just made the french toast for my wife for Mother's day and skipped the bacon & fruit topping. She told me that it was top three meals she's ever eaten. Tried a few other crunchy french toast recipes and none have come out nearly as well as this one. One suggestion to those reading the reviews is to make more of the corn flake/almond mixture than you think you need. Also, make sure you put your french toast on a rack inside the cookie sheet so the bottoms don't stick to the pan and they cook evenly. Great/easy recipe & will definitely make again!
By susandonkers_89...
Washington, DC
on March 05, 2012
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I made this for my Mom's Birthday Brunch and it was a huge hit! I used pecans instead of almonds, because those are her favorite. We also used a Honey Baked Ham instead of bacon, keeping that warm in the oven at the same time as the French toast was really easy. Especially because you have plenty else going on with chopping, pan frying, etc. The mixture of all the flavors was what I personally liked...by the time I sat down. ;- Sweet, crunchy, gooey, salty, tangy, tart. Served with super great coffee. A very happy birthday brunch.
By kaymo29
on October 30, 2011
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Just made the french toast this morning for my boyfriend and son. It was easy to make. I burnt the first toast I placed in the pan but once I adjusted the heat it was better. The toast came out crunchy on the outside and soft inside. I didn't make the fruit topping because that is not my thing. This is a great holiday breakfast. I plan to make it again for Christmas morning. As Rachael would say yum-o.
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