Baklava Baked French Toast

Prep Time:15 minutes Chill Time:2 hours Cook Time:45 minutes Total Time:1 hour Servings: 12

A casserole baked French toast with all of the flavours of baklava including a nut topping and a honey syrup!

ingredients

For the french toast:

8 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 loaf bread (such as Italian, Texas toast, etc.), cut into 1 inch pieces (gluten-free for gluten-free)
2 cups nuts (such as walnuts, pistachios), chopped
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the syrup:

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1 inch piece of lemon rind
1 inch piece of orange rind
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or a cinnamon stick

directions

For the french toast:

Mix the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, honey, orange zest, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Place the bread in a 13×9 inch baking pan, pour the milk and egg mixture over the bread, cover, and let it chill in the fridge for a few hours to overnight.
Mix the nuts, honey, sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of the bread in the pan.
Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until the top is golden brown and the middle is no longer wet, about 45-60 minutes.
Slice and enjoy topped with honey syrup!

For the syrup:

Bring the honey, water, lemon rind, orange rind, and cinnamon to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes before straining out the solids and allowing to cool.

Tip: Use a vegetable peeler to get the thin strips of lemon/orange rind. You want to avoid getting too much of the white part of the rind, which is bitter.
Option: Use zest instead of the strips of lemon peel and orange peel.
Tip: Store any leftover in a sealed container in the fridge and warm before serving.