For Christian’s Mom’s last full day visiting us in San Francisco I decided to make us a special Breakfast…but the funny twist is that the recipe comes from a quirky cookbook that my girlfriends bought me 5+ years ago for my bachelorette party called “Intercourses.” The whole idea behind the cookbook is that it is focused on ingredients that are supposed aphrodisiacs, such as honey (I guess?). But the recipe sounded more delicious than naughty to me…so I decided it was perfectly acceptable for a Mom-in-Law farewell brunch! Weird? Maybe. Scrumptious? Definitely!
This recipe far exceeded my expectations, especially for how super easy it is (although healthy, it is not). It’s honestly a perfect brunch entertaining recipe because you can prepare everything the night before and just throw it in the oven and assemble the morning of. And it comes out piping hot and stays that way for a while which also makes it great for entertaining. You definitely don’t need syrup with the french toast because it’s so ooey and gooey on it’s own, but making a bit of honey butter to put on top really adds something fabulous. Serve it with some nice crispy chicken apple sausage or crispy bacon and it’s the start to a perfect day!
Adapted from the cookbook: Intercourses; An Aphrodisiac Cookbook, page 63
Batter (to soak bread overnight):
8 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cup half-and-half
1 TBS brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
8 thick slices French Bread
Baking Syrup:
½ cup butter (1 stick)
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup honey
½ cup maple syrup
¾ cup chopped toasted* pecans
- Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl and pour half of the mixture into a 9×12 baking dish. Place bread on top of the liquid and then pour the remaining half of the batter on top of the bread evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Melt butter in another 9×13 baking dish and stir in the remaining 4 baking syrup ingredients. Add the soaked bread slices on top of the baking syrup and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until bread is puffed and starting to brown. Serve immediately with butter (honey butter recipe below) and crispy chicken apple sausage or bacon.
- To toast chopped pecans, heat them over medium in a dry pan briefly and shaking often…until fragrant.
Honey Butter (keeps up to 4 weeks in the refrigerator)
Combine 1 stick of room temperature butter, ⅔ cup honey and ⅓ cup light brown sugar with an electric mixer or food processor. Store in a crock and chill until firm.