A Delightful Morning Treat - Homemade Baked French Toast

Every year, on the first weekend in December, our daughter Jamie and the boys come over to help us decorate for Christmas. It's time to rearrange the furniture, get the Christmas tree out of the basement, put it up, and decorate it.

Baked French Toast - Reviewed

Every year, Fran likes to have a nice breakfast for this festive activity. Normally it's just eggs, bacon, sausage, and some fresh muffins. This year Fran added this delightful homemade baked French toast.

In my post today, I will guide you through how Fran created this sweet, mouthwatering comfort dish of baked French toast.

Ingredients: For Homemade Baked French Toast

1 loaf of French bread

7 to 8 large eggs

1 cup of milk

1/2 cup heavy cream or (half and half)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter melted

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Powdered sugar, cinnamon, and brown sugar for the top after baking. 

Directions:

1. Cut the French bread into 1-inch cubes.
2. Melt the butter, and mix with the brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Pour the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
4. Add the cut cubes of French bread into the baking dish and spread evenly.
5. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until all is well combined.
6. Pour the mixture over the French bread, cover, and refrigerate for one or two hours.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes until it's golden brown and set in the center.
8. Sprinkle the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and brown sugar over the top while it's hot right out of the oven.

Serve warm with butter, and maple syrup. We had fresh-cut strawberries and whipped cream for some added treats on top of our baked French toast.

You don't have to wait for the holidays to enjoy this delightful baked French toast. Whether you're hosting a brunch or just treating yourself to a wonderful morning breakfast anytime.

Amazon Brand - Happy Belly Cinnamon, Ground, 15 OuncesPyrex Deep 5.2-Qt (9

 

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How to Make a Breakfast Parfait

I am going to review how to make a breakfast parfait.   If you haven't tried a breakfast parfait before then you are in for a treat as it is a delicious way to start your day.

Image photo by Louanne Cox, adapted for this article with Canva

I know that technically it's not a parfait, but I saw someone on Instagram layering yogurt, fruit and a little granola in a tall glass and calling it a breakfast parfait.  I immediately thought of a different option that I could make.

First a little bit about me.   I absolutely love overnight oats and eat these for my breakfast regularly, they taste good, but to be honest they don't look that fantastic.   I also love having berries with my breakfast and when I choose to have proats I will often top them with berries.   I also like to keep my breakfasts both gluten and dairy-free for the majority of the time.

Now let's look at the breakfast parfait.

My Breakfast Parfait Breakdown

I basically have 3 different layers:

1. Coconut yogurt
2. Overnight oats
3. Frozen berries

Let's talk through the overnight oats layer.   I use the following ingredients:

2/3 cups oats (now I use regular oats as I'm not a celiac so the fact that some gluten may be present - oats are naturally gluten-free - isn't something I need to worry about, but obviously you can use any oats)

2 scoops of vanilla protein powder (I use Arbonne's one which is a vegan protein)

1 cup dairy-free milk of choice (I alternate between using coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk)

The rest of the ingredients I don't really measure (confession time I tend to be a throw things together kind of cook as opposed to measuring everything carefully!).

Black chia seeds, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

I mix this all together and I'm ready to start making the parfait.   You will note (if you've made overnight oats before) that I don't add as much fluid as usual, this is because I'm adding yogurt and frozen berries so the oats can soak up some of the water from the defrosting process and some of the yogurt.

I use what is called a breakfast smoothie cup to make my breakfast parfait in - I had tried a hurricane glass I have at home, but it wasn't big enough!   I brought mine in K-Mart here in Australia, but you can find similar items on Amazon if you're not in Australia or New Zealand.   Mine has a lid with a hole in it and reusable straw as well as a full lid which is the one that I obviously use and is similar to this one that I found on Amazon - Smoothie Breakfast Cup.

Putting the Breakfast Parfait Together

I place a little yogurt in the bottom of the glass/cup, on top of this I add 1/3 of the overnight oats mixture, then some frozen fruit*, yogurt, 1/3 of the overnight oats mix, frozen fruit, yogurt, remaining overnight oats, a small amount of fruit and a tsp or two of the yogurt (I like to be able to see a little of the oat mixture showing through around the edges when I look at the breakfast parfait, but the aesthetic is up to you.

As far as the frozen fruit I actually use different ones on each layer.  First up I use a mixed blend called the Dark Fruits Mix (it contains blackberries, dark cherries, black currants), next I use a mixed blend called Ruby Fruits Mix (this contains strawberries, dark cherries, red currants), on the top I use frozen blueberries.

To be honest, I would probably mix the fruits up even more, but they've been in short supply in our local supermarket at the moment so I've been using the fruits I've got plenty of.   I do love the variety as I eat so I'll continue to mix it up but I can't wait to be able to get frozen raspberries & blackberries again as I fancy trying a layer of each of the following - raspberries, strawberries & blackberries.

Photo by Lou16

You can see the different layers showing through in this photo, doesn't it look good?   Let me know if you are going to try this or not.

I share recipes on my Healthy Tips to Feel & Look Your Best Facebook group, you're welcome to join us.

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Delicious Blackberry Muffin Recipe Reviewed

Fresh blackberries are always an invitation to bake something delicious!  When I recently purchased some blackberries at our local farmer's market, I made Blackberry Muffins as soon as I got home.  Today, I am sharing my personal blackberry muffin recipe here so you, too, can enjoy this delicious treat. 

My recipe makes 18 muffins which seems like a lot at first glance. However, it didn't take my family long to devour these delicious muffins.  

For either of us, when we pair these muffins with coffee, we are in a breakfast feast heaven.  While I would normally say that the serving size is one muffin, in our home, the serving size is two or more muffins.  They really are that good!
 

The Muffin Batter & Muffin Tins 

This is a muffin recipe, not to be confused with cupcakes.  The muffin batter is thicker and won't pour like a cake batter.  I "spoon" my muffin batter into muffin tins.  I bake them in non-stick muffin tins, therefore paper liners are not required.  I do grease the non-stick tins with Crisco shortening and these muffins turn out easily.

 

My Blackberry Muffin Recipe

Prep Time	Cook Time	Ready In	Yields
20 min.	20-25 min.	45 min.	18 servings

Ingredients 

• 1¼ cups of sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
  
• 1/2 cup butter, softened  (extra for brushing tops)
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups fresh blackberries  
  

 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375° 
2. Grease non-stick muffin tins with Crisco shortening
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter together.  Beat in one egg at a time (adding a total of 2 eggs)
   
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt
5. Gradually mix flour mixture into butter mixture alternating with milk & beating well after each addition.  
6. Fold in Blackberries (do not use the mixer & beaters here)
7. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins, approximately 2/3 full in each muffin cup
8. Sprinkle tops with sugar
9. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
10. Using a small silicone pastry brush, brush muffins with melted butter as soon as they are out of the oven and put back in the oven for 2 minutes 
11. Let Cool for 5 minutes, remove from muffin tins & serve
    





Recommended Baking Essentials

 Wilton Non-Stick 6-Cup Standard Muffin Pan, Set of 2Check Price OXO Good Grips Silicone Basting & Pastry Brush - SmallCheck Price LILPARTNER Hand Mixer ElectricCheck Price Tovolo Stainless Steel Mixing (7.5 Quart)Check Price

 





Or, Try a Blackberry Fruit Cobbler!



 

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Delicious Blackberry Muffin Recipe Reviewed Written by:







© 2021 Cynthia Sylvestermouse
 




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Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Recipe and Review

These homemade cinnamon rolls are delicious! 

I wish I could say they are fast, but they do require time for raising.  I have not found a way to start the cinnamon rolls in advance and bake them later.  This is a recipe you will want to prepare and bake on the same day.  Therefore, you either need to serve them for brunch, or get up before sunrise to start the dough.  Either way, these cinnamon rolls are worth it!

It looks like a lot of instructions when you read the recipe below, but they are still fairly easy to make.  I simply give enough details that even the inexperienced baker will have success with the recipe. Please do not let the appearance of difficulty or length keep you from baking these divine cinnamon rolls.

I will warn you in advance, the recipe makes 12 cinnamon rolls, but most of us can only eat one.  They are that big and filling.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Recipe 

Dough Ingredients 

• 2 ¼ teaspoons (1 pkg) active dry yeast 
• 
  3/4 Cup Warm Whole Milk
• 1/2 Cup of Buttermilk  
• 1 Cup Warm Water 
• 2 Tablespoon Softened Butter 
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar 
• 1 ¼ teaspoons Salt 
• 6 Cups All Purpose Flour (plus extra for flouring work surfaces)

  

Filling Ingredients

• 1/4 Cup Melted Butter 
• 1 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar 
• 4 teaspoons Instant Coffee Granules – mashed with spoon to fine powder 
• 2 teaspoons Ground Saigon Cinnamon 
  

 

Simple Icing Ingredients  (If prefered, click here to jump to cream cheese alternative icing recipe)

• 1 ½ Cup Confectioner’s Sugar 
• 2 Tablespoon Softened Butter 
• 2 Tablespoon Whole Milk 
• ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract 

 

 

Set-up for Baking Success

Set out 1/4 Stick (4 Tablespoons) of Butter to Soften plus a little more to grease baking pan & bowl (should set out about 30 minutes before needed) 

Set out the mixing bowls & other supplies you will need.  I use the following:

• Deep bowl for mixing (flour tends to blow when mixing, so use a deep bowl)
• Large glass bowl for raising  
• Hand Held Mixer
  
• 13 x 9 Baking Pan 
• Cutting board for kneading 
• Clean the counter top for rolling out dough to 18" x 12" size  (Note:  I have a 18 x 12 glass microwave plate from an old microwave that is perfect for this.  If you can find one, it will save a lot of mess and clean-up time. Otherwise, I recommend the pastry mat with measurements featured below)
  
  

Preparation

• Grease large glass bowl for raising
• Flour Cutting Board for kneading
• Warm Milk & Buttermilk in microwave (stir every 15 seconds to avoid burning)
  

Directions 

1.  In a large, deep mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water
   
2. Add warm milk, warm buttermilk, sugar, softened butter, salt and 4 cups of flour.  Beat (mixer) on medium speed until smooth. 
3. By hand, spoon or fork, Stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will still be sticky) 
4. Turn onto a floured cutting board surface, knead 6-8 minutes. (Dough should be smooth and elastic.) 
5. Place in a greased bowl, turning over once to grease top of the dough ball. 
6. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour
7. After the hour, Grease 13 x 9 baking pan
   
8. Flour clean counter or rolling surface & rolling pin
9. Melt 1/4 Cup Butter in microwave
   
10. Combine Brown Sugar, Instant Coffee Granules and Cinnamon
    
11. Punch Dough down, turn onto floured surface and roll out to 18" x 12" rectangle. 
12. Brush with melted butter 
13. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over buttered dough to within ½” of edges.  Use all of the mixture
    
14. Starting with long edge, Roll up Jelly-roll style and Pinch seam to seal 
15. Cut into 12 slices 
16. Place rolls, cut side up, in greased baking pan 
17. Cover and let rise 30 minutes (will double again) 
18. Preheat oven to 350 – Bake 25 – 28 minutes until golden brown
19. In a small bowl, beat icing ingredients until smooth and spread over rolls 
20. Serve your delicious homemade cinnamon rolls

 

---

Alternate Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

  

Ingredients 

• 2 ounces cream cheese, softened 
• 7 Tablespoons butter, softened 
• 2 Tablespoons milk
  
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract  
• 1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon salt  

Instructions:  Beat softened cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer in a large bowl until creamy. Mix in the milk and vanilla, then gradually mix in the confectioners sugar and salt until smooth.

---

There are a few things in this post that may cause questions or uncertainty. Therefore, I am featuring a deep mixing bowl that I recommend for mixing dough. It won't keep the flour from "blowing", but it will keep more of it contained in the bowl. Also, saigon cinnamon is not the average, everyday cinnamon most of us have on our spice rack. It is a bolder, stronger tasting cinnamon that really gives the cinnamon rolls the needed "kick" that sets them apart from others.

 Pyrex Prepware 4-Quart Rimmed Glass Mixing Bowl, ClearCheck Price Mccormick Gourmet Organic Ground Saigon CinnamonCheck Price SiliQueen Silicone Pastry Baking Mat with MeasurementsCheck Price OXO Good Grips Silicone Basting & Pastry Brush - SmallCheck Price

 

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Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Recipe & Review Written by:

© 2021 Cynthia Sylvestermouse
 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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