DIY Disney's Main Street Bakery French Toast Loaf

We are huge fans of the Main Street Bakery. Many a snack credit has been used there for many a wonderful and sugary snack! I must admit, I have never actually had this French Toast Loaf there, I tend toward the chocolate croissants, every time. But this was a fairly simple and very delicious way to bring a little of that Disney magic to the breakfast table between visits.

I found this recipe on Allears.net, one of our all time favorite sites for trip planning. What you may not know, is that they also have large selection of Disney recipes too! It's definitely worth checking out.

As for this recipe, it's clearly written as a scaled down version of a larger "park-size" recipe. Next time, I would go with only 4-6 oz. of butter (1 to 1 1/2 sticks), about 6 oz. (or 1 Cup) of brown sugar, and 6-8 oz. of heavy cream. I used half and half and just eye-balled about a cup, but I know it was less than this recipe called for. And I always go heavy on the vanilla. Everything is better when it's doubled! I was a little concerned that there wouldn't be enough cinnamon flavor, but it was actually perfect. And be sure to keep a pan underneath it in the oven. We had a major incident with burning butter that required us to clean the oven! Always something!

That said, this French Toast Loaf was delicious and the family all raved about it. Ours didn't stay together enough for it to be turned out of the pan, so we served it like you would a lasagne. No one had a problem with it! It's very sweet, so it might be best served as part of a brunch with sweet and savory offerings, or reserved as a special occasion breakfast. It will certainly find a place in the regular rotation here at the cottage!

Here's the original recipe with my changes in parenthesis:

Ingredients:

12 slices day-old white bread; preferably a homestyle white, not Wonder Bread
type

8 oz. butter, chilled and sliced (reduce to 1 to 1-1/2 sticks)

Brown sugar batch:

9 oz, light brown sugar (reduce to 1 cup)
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix together and set aside.

Batter:

10 oz. heavy cream (reduce to 1 cup)
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla (increase to 1 tsp or more)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix together and refrigerate until ready to use. (we let it sit in the refrigerator overnight)

Method:

Liberally spray a loaf pan with Pam or other vegetable spray. Layer three slices day old bread on bottom of pan. Sprinkle 1/3 brown sugar mixture on top of bread, then layer 1/3 of the butter. Repeat these steps two more times. Top off with three more slices of bread (should have a total of 12 slices of bread). Press down with hand to compact bread into loaf pan.

Slowly pour 16 oz. of batter over top of loaf, covering completely. This may take a little time, to allow it to fully absorb into bread and flow into spaces at bottom. (Take
your time here and pour into corners. Lift bread at corners a little to get into bottom quicker if you want.)

Place loaf pan on some paper towel in case of overflow. Cover top of loaf with parchment paper and wrap top tightly with aluminum foil. Place in refrigerator and allow to sit overnight.

Heat oven to 325º F. Bake for approximately 1 hour or until internal temperature in center of loaf is 160 degrees. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Place a plate on top of loaf pan and invert to remove from pan. Cut into 7 slices and serve.

Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!