This past weekend we had a lovely little birthday celebration for my roommate–there were decorations (including makeshift tissue paper flowers by yours truly that were sub-par at best), sweets, a delicious-but-ugly cake (I really, really stink at cakes) and plenty of time with good friends.

Whenever we have guests stay for the weekend, I always try to make breakfast–there’s something nice about sitting down to a brunch, rather than picking up bagels (but don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a good bagel). For this weekend, I pulled together one of my mom’s favorite twists on breakfast, french toast casserole. It’s super simple and can be made ahead of time–all you need to do day of is turn the oven on. That way, you can crawl back into bed until it’s ready…pretty perfect if you ask me!

French Toast Casserole

You’ll need:

• 1 1/2 loaves of french break or 1 loaf challah bread, cut into cubes
• 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups light cream
• 1/2 c. maple syrup, plus more for topping
• 1 stick butter, melted
• cinnamon

Grease a baking dish. Cube bread, filling the dish with one layer and setting the rest aside. Cube the block of cream cheese and sprinkle on top of the layer of bread, then place the rest of the bread on top.

Mix the eggs, cream, syrup and butter together in a bowl. Pour into the baking dish, coating the bread and cream cheese evenly. Cover with tinfoil and place in the fridge for 4-24 hours. When you’re ready to make it, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with cinnamon and bake for at least 30 minutes, or until browned and bubbly. Cut into pieces and serve with maple syrup on top. Enjoy!

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