Printer-friendly versionI've lived in a lot of different places in my life (Air Force kid), and I love taking advantage of the unique opportunities each place has to offer. Here in the Phoenix area, I'm truly spoiled, with amazing markets where I can get amazingly fresh tortillas, salsas, and everything you might want to fix any number of Mexican and south American cuisines. It was here that I learned about dulce de leche, an amazing caramel-like substance. Sweet, complex, creamy, delicious. It's a lot like caramel, but it's definitely its own thing.
Even the big national brands like Coffee-mate are jumping in on the flavor (they must know a good thing when they taste one!), and I couldn't resist trying the new Dulce de Leche Coffee-mate creamer flavor as soon as I found it in a local store.
It's delicious in coffee (of course), but I bad bigger plans for the creamy, sweet liquid. I started dreaming up an easy breakfast casserole, a baked French toast with dulce de leche fabulousness baked right in. And once I'd thought of the idea, I simply had to create it.
Dulce de Leche Baked French Toast Ingredients:
- one loaf of French bread
- 6 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup Coffee-mate Dulce de Leche Creamer
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 t vanilla
- 1/4 t salt
- 1 can Nestle Dulce de Leche
Start by cubing or tearing up your loaf of French bread into chunks. If you really want to gild the lily, use homemade bread, like I did. This is a fabulous way to use up leftover, stale bread, but fresh works, too.
Place the chunks of bread in a 9x13 pan.
Combine salt, eggs, Dulce de Leche Coffee-mate creamer, milk, and brown sugar in a bowl, and whisk together.
Pour the liquid mixture over the bread. At this point, you can bake, or you can cover the pan and store it in the fridge until you're ready to bake. This can even be made the day before you want to serve the French toast, which makes it absolutely ideal for when you have company over and need to serve breakfast or brunch. I'll bet you could even freeze it at this stage, and bake it directly from the freezer. I'll have to test that out next.
When it's time to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. While waiting for the oven to come to temperature, open up the can of Dulce de Leche, that nectar of the gods, and spread it over the top of the French toast mixture.
One small can is the perfect quantity to cover a 9x13 pan nicely.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
While you're baking the French toast, you can whip up some whipped cream.
Scoop some of that warm, sweet French toast bake in your dish, top with a dollop of cold whipped cream, and enjoy complete bliss.
Ok, so yes, this is essentially eating bread pudding for breakfast. What's wrong with that? It's totally the same as French toast, just way easier to make in a pan!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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