Creme Brûlée french toast

Since Easter, we've had a few house guests.  I love having house guests, and I especially love having easy, yet fancy-seeming breakfasts.  This one fits the bill, for sure.  It's easy to prep the night before, and bakes up quickly in the morning.  It is rather decadent, but is worth it in my opinion.

First, melt a half cup of butter (margarine works too, but isn't as smooth) with a cup of brown sugar and two tablespoons of corn syrup.  I use a dark brown sugar, and dark corn syrup, but I bet a commercial maple style syrup would be good too.  When this is all melted and yummy looking, pour it into a greased pan.  The original recipe called for a 9x13, but I found that a pair of round cake pans fits the bread better.

Then, add sliced french bread to the pans, pushing it down somewhat to get the syrupy goodness all pushed into the bread.

Then, beat 5 eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a tsp or so of vanilla together, and pour overtop of the bread, making sure it all gets soaked.  Cover with plastic wrap and throw in the fridge overnight.  In the morning, bake it for about 20-30 minutes at 350 (the longer time is if you toss it in the oven as you turn it on, like I do).  Flip the bread over as soon as you pull it out of the oven.  Serve with whip cream, and fresh berries.

Honestly, it's so good, and so easy.  I use a whole loaf of french bread from my local grocery store, and it's usually only $1, so it's not a pricey meal either, even with real whipped cream.  I can toss it in the oven first thing when I wake up, put on the coffee, and have a quick shower all before everything is ready to eat, giving me time to set the table too.  That's a win/win in my books!