Cinnamon French Toast Bake

I love cinnamon buns and french toast, so the idea of creating two in one was a no brainer! This recipe is from Pillsbury's website. Very easy to prepare and great for a breakfast or bunch party!

Ingredients

1/4 cup Butter, melted

2 cans (12.4 oz each) Pillsbury refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing

6 eggs

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I used 1/2 tsp)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1cup Chopped Pecans (or any nuts you like)

1 cup maple syrup (I used 1/2 cup)

Garnish

Icing from cinnamon rolls

Powdered sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup, if desired (I only used 1/4 cup)

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. Pour melted butter into ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Separate both cans of dough into 16 rolls; set icing aside. Cut each roll into 8 pieces; place pieces over butter in dish.

• In medium bowl, beat eggs. Beat in cream, cinnamon and vanilla until well blended; gently pour over roll pieces. Sprinkle with pecans; drizzle with 1 cup syrup.
• Bake 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Meanwhile, remove covers from icing; microwave on Medium (50%) 10 to 15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle.
• Drizzle icing over top; sprinkle with powdered sugar. If desired, spoon syrup from dish over individual servings. Serve with the additional 1/2 cup maple syrup.

Note: make sure that the egg mixture is completely absorbed by the roll pieces. If not, you might get a thin layer of " cooked egg" at the bottom of your dish.





Almond Flan

I simply love Flan. Its the perfect ending to any meal really! Its smooth and creamy with the bitter-sweet caramel sauce drizzled all over what could be better? How about bumping up the flavor factor and pairing it with ALMONDS. The nutty flavor goes oh so well with this, it was a match made in heaven. A real crowd pleaser, in my opinion. I followed this recipe below that I found at All Recipes.com and tweaked it! Recipe as follows with my tweaks:

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs (I used 5 eggs)
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I substituted Vanilla for Almond Extract)
• 1/4 cup of toasted, sliced almonds

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt sugar until liquefied and golden in color. Carefully pour hot syrup into the 9 inch round glass baking dish , turning the dish to evenly coat the bottom and sides.
3. Evenly sprinkle the toasted almonds over the syrup while hot. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Beat in condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour egg mixture into baking dish.
5. Place pie dish in a larger glass or ceramic baking dish and fill with about 1-2 inches of hot water.
6. Bake for 45 minutes in the water bath and check with a knife just to the side of the center. If knife comes out clean, it's ready.
7. To serve, carefully invert on serving plate with edges when completely cool (I suggest cooling the flan in the refrigerator for one hour prior to serving).