Weekend French Toast

We have a newly evolving family tradition on Saturday mornings that involves this amazing French toast!  It happened out of the blue - a few months ago when I woke up and decided I was going to make French toast for the hubby and the rest was history - he has literally asked for it just about every Saturday since, (to the point where he reminds me to get the bread during the week.)  It is that yummy!

Part of fun of this tradition involves having multiple toppings available - maple syrup, Nutella, Biscoff, bananas, berries, pineapple, pecans, (or your favorite nuts), coconut, whipped cream, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, whatever you like!  Your fam can build their own perfect masterpiece!  (My hubby loves bananas, pecans and maple syrup.)

This French toast is nice and crispy on the outside and custardy, (that's actually not really a word but I'm using it anyway), on the inside.  You will want bread that is sliced at least an inch thick so that it doesn't dissolve in the custard mixture when you dunk it.  We love the pre-sliced Texas toast style bread which works great, or you can take a nice loaf of hearty bread and slice it about an inch thick.

This breakfast takes just a few minutes to throw together, but you are going to love the time you get at the table with everyone.  If you don't have a griddle, you can totally cook this in a buttered skillet or frying pan on the stove, but I love the griddle because I can do 8 slices at one time and the whole fam, (including the chef), can sit and eat together.  This recipe makes 8 thick slices of French Toast!  

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 8 slices thickly cut Texas toast style bread, (NOT garlic bread Texas toast.)

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs well, then whisk in the heavy cream, milk, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish to make it easy to dip the bread.  
2. Heat a griddle to 350 degrees BEFORE you start dipping.  Once it has reached temp, slather a little butter all over the top of the griddle with your spatula.  
3. My griddle will hold 8 slices of bread, so I work with dipping four slices at a time.  I place four slices of bread in the mixture in the baking dish, wait about 5-10 seconds, then flip them over, wait another 5-10 seconds, then lift and let the excess mixture run off before moving them quickly to the hot, buttered griddle.  (The first slices in are the first flipped and the first out.)  I then repeat with the other four slices.
4. Let all the bread cook for about 2-3 minutes on the griddle, (until golden), then lower the temperature to 325, flip and let cook another 3-5 minutes until the other side is golden brown.  (This ensures the middle is cooked perfectly with a nice crisp exterior.)
5. Serve with an array of toppings that your fam can choose from!

*Note, if by some miracle you have leftovers you can store them in the refrigerator in a baggie and reheat in the toaster the next morning!