Baked Stuffed French Toast

For J's birthday brunch, I made these baked stuffed french toast. It's a proper meal on it's own as it contains bread, ham, cheese, tomato, spinach, eggs and milk. We also added a drizzle of maple syrup for decadence and it works really well with the french toast as it gives the perfect balance of sweet and salty. You can prepare the french toast in advance and bake them when required which is ideal if you have guests staying over or just for a lazy weekend brunch. 

I'm sending it to Calendar Cakes hosted by Rachel from Dolly Bakes. The theme is Bank Holiday Bakes and we are asked to share what we make to relax, share with friends or take on picnics.

 

 Make a slit in the bread 

 fill it with ham, cheese, spinach and tomato or fillings of your choice 

 let it soak in the egg/milk mixture for about 30 minutes 

 turn it over and soak again or place in the fridge overnight 

 For extra decadence, I added a slice of ham and cheese on top before baking 

 Fresh from the oven - the cheese melted beautifully on the outside  

 With a drizzle of maple syrup 

Makes 2 large servings (enough to feed 4 or 2 very hungry people)

2 large slices of bread from a large loaf (I used a poppyseed bloomer)

4 slices of ham

2 slices of cheese

2 tomatoes, sliced

handful of spinach

4 eggs

2/3 cup milk 

salt and pepper to taste 

Maple syrup to serve (optional) 

• Whisk the eggs in a bowl and add the milk and stir.
• Pour into a large shallow dish.
• Prepare the bread by making a slit in each slide of bread - you need quite a thick slice of bread to fit the fillings
• Fill your sandwich with fillings of your choice -  used a slice of ham and a slice of cheese, some sliced tomatoes and a few spinach leaves
• Place the bread in the egg/milk mixture and let it soak for about 30 minutes.
• Turn the bread over and soak for a further 30 minutes. You can wrap it in clingfilm and place in the fridge overnight at this point if required. 
• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Place a slice of ham and cheese on top of the sandwich (optional)
• Bake in the oven for approximately 20-25 minutes until the cheese has melted and the egg mixture is set. 
• Slice and enjoy with a drizzle of maple syrup.