Overnight Stuffed Banana's Foster French Toast

When I have overnight guests, I enjoy serving them breakfast the next morning. Only, after a night of catching up with my company, I don't like to rise n' shine and start banging around my pots and pans in the morning. I prefer for my guests to awaken to the smell of bacon and coffee and whatever is in the oven rather than the crazy racket I make when I get into cooking mode. My solution: I make overnight breakfast casseroles. I have an egg casserole and a couple of french toast casseroles that are popular with my "regulars". However, when I entertained last weekend, I wanted to try something new. I've been thinking about stuffed french toast lately. It's on breakfast menus from IHOP to Bob Evans and it tempts me. So I went in search for the perfect stuffed french toast casserole. I found this one on the Food Network website from the Neely's. Only it wasn't an overnight casserole. The original recipe makes individual french toasts, baked on a rack. I made some minor adustments and this casserole was born. It turned out beautifully! And so good. Dreamy. I have loved Bananas Foster since first bite back in college. One of my sorority sisters was preparing a New Orleans dinner for an RHIT course and we all purchased tickets to support her. It was all amazing, but the dish that has stuck in my head is that Bananas Foster. What better for breakfast than french toast stuffed with a Bananas Foster, cream cheese filling?

Here are the components of this breakfast perfection: butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, bananas, cream cheese, French bread, eggs, heavy cream, whole milk, and rum extract.



Melt butter in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Once butter is melted add the brown sugar and pinch of cinnamon. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts into the butter and becomes a sauce. Add bananas and rum extract and toss together.



Let cook until the bananas are soft and incorporated into the sauce.



Remove to a bowl and let cool completely. Once cool, add cream cheese and mash with a wooden spoon.



Using a paring knife, cut a 2-inch-long slits in 1 side of each bread slice, cutting 3/4 of way through bread and creating pocket that leaves 3 sides of bread intact. Divide banana mixture equally among the bread pockets.



Place the stuffed bread into a lightly greased 9 X 13 inch casserole dish.



In a large bowl, add eggs, heavy cream, milk, cinnamon and rum and whisk to combine.



Pour the egg and cream mixture over the bread. Turn each slice of bread over once so that it soaks up the liquid. Now cover and refrigerate overnight.



Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. I served mine with warm syrup and whipped cream and a side of bacon twists. Amazing!





Banana Stuffed French Toast adapted from the Food Network website
Recipe courtesy: The Neelys

Prep Time: 15 min Inactive Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 35 min Level: Easy
Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

Filling:
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
Pinch ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon rum extract
3 ripe bananas, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 large unsliced loaf French bread, bread cut into 8 slices
4 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon rum extract
Nonstick cooking spray
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish
Maple syrup, whipped cream

Directions

Melt butter in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Once butter is melted add the brown sugar and pinch of cinnamon. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts into the butter and becomes a sauce. Add bananas and rum extract and toss together. Let cook until the bananas are soft and incorporated into the sauce. Remove to a bowl and let cool completely. Once cool, add cream cheese and mash with a wooden spoon.

Using a paring knife, cut a 2-inch-long slits in 1 side of each bread slice, cutting 3/4 of way through bread and creating pocket that leaves 3 sides of bread intact. Divide banana mixture equally among the bread pockets. Place stuffed bread slices in a lightly greased 9 X 13 baking dish.

In a large bowl, add eggs, heavy cream, milk, cinnamon and rum and whisk to combine. Pour mixture over the bread slices. Turn each slice once to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 350 degrees until the French toast is golden brown and filling is hot, about 30 minutes. Transfer the toast on a serving platter and garnish with confectioners' sugar and maple syrup.