Recipes: New England French Toast Charlotte

• Cook Time:30 minutes

 

Tagged:
breakfast, charlotte, dessert, eggs, french toast, mincemeat, muffins, new england,

This recipe is meant to mimic the taste of a sweet, cinnamon-scented French Toast breakfast while being served as a dessert. The aroma of this treat coming from the oven while it is baking is fantastic. Next to bread, warm baked mincemeat is probably the most comforting smell and with the addition of tart cranberries, it is a dessert to be kept alive for many generations.

 

Foodie Byte

Ingredients

3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup apple, cranberry or orange juice
1 cup fresh cranberries
Butter-flavored cooking spray
12 slices of bread
1 cup prepared mincemeat
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoon maple syrup

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
In a small saucepan, add the apple juice and cranberries and place a lid on it ajar to let the steam out while cooking but keeping the liquid from splattering on you.
Boil over medium-high heat for 3-3 1/2 minutes, or until the cranberries are tender and have popped.
Remove from stove and set aside.
Coat a 6-cup muffin tin (or you may use separate ramekins) well with butter-flavored cooking spray.
Place bread slices on a cutting board or work surface and trim the crust off.
Cut 12 bread circles with a 2-inch round cookie cutter or the rim of a glass that is as close in size as the bottom of the muffin cup. Don't worry if half the circles are smaller than the top of the cup; everything will fit just fine.
Discard bread trimmings.
Cut remainder of bread slices into rectangles that are about 1/2-3/4-inches wide.
Spray one side of a circle with spray and coat it with the sugar/cinnamon mixture.
Lay this sugar side-down in muffin cup.
Do the same with a rectangular piece of bread, placing it on the wall of the cup, sugared side out. You may have to take a piece of another strip of bread to fully form the 'wall' of the muffin cup.
Repeat with all 6 muffin cups.
In a bowl, combine mincemeat, orange zest, cranberries and 3 tablespoons of the cranberry liquid.
Gently stir well, discarding remainder of cooking liquid.
Dollop 2 tablespoons mincemeat mixture into each bread-lined well.
Take the 6 remaining bread circles and spray one side with butter-flavored cooking spray and dip in the sugar/cinnamon mixture, coating well.
Lay this circle on top of mincemeat mixture, sugared side facing up, pressing down firmly.
Bake 25-30 minutes, or until nicely browned.
Remove from oven, cool slightly and serve right-side up or upside down.
Garnish with whipped cream or warm maple syrup if you like.

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