My cinnamon fetish

Have I mentioned this? Have you heard? Yes, it's true. I have, as of late, a complete infatuation with all things cinnamon. I recently stayed up until 12:30 in the a.m just to make cinnamon rolls (thank you Orangette for the inspiration).

Cinnamon, I want you on and in everything, especially if there's butter or maple syrup for you to cozy up next to. A conjugal visit, of sorts, a blissful conjoining of spicy, creamy, sappy sweet love. I won't watch, I swear. But I promise I will lick the plate clean of you when your done. I just can't help myself, I'm crazed. Most women go bonkers over chocolate. Not me. Nope. I only have eyes for you, cinnamon.


Luckily, for me, it's pretty easy to get a four year old on board with having breakfast for dinner. Delighted in my new affair, I decided to conjure up a batch of baked french toast, laden with cinnamon, of course.
Along with cinnamon, french toast is something I've always had a crush on. It's my go to breakfast item whenever I have company, and a favorite when eating at greasy diners before noon, ya just can't go wrong. This is a recipe I've adapted from an America's Test Kitchen cookbook. Baking french toast brings a whole new purpose for maple syrup. They turn out fluffed and moist with a thin, sweet crunchy shell. It's never dry or too dense, which are both common issues with the traditional pan grilled style french toast. It's really the method I'm wanting to highlight here, the flavors and ingredients can easily be tweaked to please any palate. Just don't forget the CINNAMON!

Baked French Toast
serves 4 or so

8 slices of a hearty white bread or french bread
6 large brown eggs
3/4c cream(milk is ok if your looking for a lighter version)
1 1/2t cinnamon
7 grates or so of fresh nutmeg
1 T pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c grade b maple syrup
2 T light oil, safflower or canola

Set oven to 300. Arrange bread slices on a sheet pan and put in oven to dry, about 10 min. per side, this allows bread to soak up more of the egg batter without getting too soggy, set aside to cool about 4 min. before continuing.

Mix eggs, cream, vanilla, 1/2t cinnamon, nutmeg, salt in a shallow dish (a 13x9 Pyrex works well). Whisk well until fully incorporated. Two at a time, dip cooled bread into batter, turning to coat both sides, about a 20-30 second soak. Place battered bread on a cooling rack set inside a sheet pan, to allow all excess batter to drip off.
Meanwhile, crank the oven up to 425, spread oil on a sheet pan and set in oven to heat, just till oil starts to smoke, about 4 min. When pan has heated, arrange bread on sheet quickly, give each one a little giggle to spread oil underneath. Put in oven to cook first side for about 10 min.
At this point you'll want to mix brown sugar and remaining maple syrup and cinnamon in a bowl to make a nice crumbble topping for bread. After 10 min. remove bread, flip each slice over and top with crumble mix, place back in oven to finish, about 6-8 min more. Let toast cool for a few minutes before serving, I like to top each with a pad of butter while they're still hot.

These really don't need much more. You may find you want a slight drizzle of maple syrup over top, but the addition of the brown sugar crumble really adds a good kick of crunchy sweetness. These are the perfect candidate for a dollop of fresh tart yogurt, to balance out they're ambrosial maple topping.

Enjoy!