Baked Orange Pecan French Toast

PanNan's Note:

This is a wonderful treat with easy advance preparation. An elegant breakfast to serve over- night guests. Prep time includes 2 hours chill time. This is a Texas recipe - oranges from the valley, not to mention all the Texas pecan trees. Southwestern U.S.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 35 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Toast

• 4 eggs
• 2⁄3; cup orange juice
• 1⁄3; cup milk
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 8 slices bread , 1/2 inch thick
• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Orange Syrup

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup orange juice

Directions:

1. Toast: Beat together eggs, juice, milk, sugar, vanilla and nutmeg.
2. Arrange bread in a single layer, top with egg mixture.
3. Refrigerate 2 hours.
4. Melt butter in 10 X 15 X 2 pan, and arrange bread on top.
5. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with pecans, and bake 10 minutes more.
7. Orange syrup: Combine syrup ingredients and cook over low heat.
8. Do not boil.
9. Cool for 10 minutes, and serve warm over hot toast.

Reviews

[Rottmom]

I made this for my visiting parents for a nice brunch. I used two types of bread, one a whole-grain white and the other a pre-sliced French sandwich bread. I preferred the French bread as it browned more and crisped up a bit more than the white bread. The orange syrup was divine. Don't expect a thick syrup, though, it is pretty thin in consistency but the flavor is great. I will make this again using all French bread and will add a bit more nutmeg to give it a boost. Thanks for a very nice recipe!

[ammi]

This toast was really good! I wanted to do something different with the sauce though, so I added a bit more butter and some maple syrup. OMG!!!! The result was mouth watering, makes-your-cheeks-hurt, deliciousness!

[twissis]

I halved the recipe for 2 of us, used wheat sandwich bread & debated the orange syrup part of the recipe while the French toast chilled. I wanted to be faithful to the recipe & knew I was going to photograph it, but also felt (for us at least) the syrup would be overkill. I finally opted not to make it. The toast puffed up some & browned nicely in the exact cooking time specified. What I like best about this dish is what made my choice a good one. It is lightly sweet, not overpoweringly sweet as many of its genre are. I served it w/bacon & tasted it several ways, i.e. plain (good), w/maple syrup (good), lightly buttered (very good), lightly buttered & dusted w/powdered sugar (Special!). The orange flavour was just right & the nutmeg a nice addition. I do not feel the pecans added anything except to the presentation. This is a lovely company-worthy dish, easy to fix & tastes great. Thx for sharing it w/us.