San Francisco Custard French Toast

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Prep time: 50 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Serves: 6 to 8

Barb Damion of Sacramento was looking for the Tower Cafe French toast recipe. We featured a recipe clone for this dish in August.

We heard from Barbara Lancara of Sacramento with this recipe, which she has been using for a long time — since before Tower Cafe opened.

This recipe is finished in the oven. Lancara says that, according to a longtime server at Tower Cafe, the cafe finishes its French toast in the oven, too. She says this recipe is virtually identical to Tower Cafe's and is to die for.

• Ingredients:

2 loaves sweet French

baguettes

4 cups whole milk

4 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated

1/3 teaspoon salt

Large dash nutmeg

Butter and oil, for frying

• Instructions:

Cut French bread into 2½-inch slices and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients except butter and oil in a bowl and mix well. Place bread in a container large enough to hold all slices without stacking. Pour milk mixture over bread. Bread will float. Cover and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn bread slices and let soak until all the batter has been absorbed. Place in the refrigerator overnight. They will be ready to cook in the morning.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat some butter and oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the soaked bread until golden brown on each side, then place on a sheet pan. Continue until all soaked bread is browned, adding more butter and oil as needed. (The burner temperature may need to be adjusted to medium as you fry.)

Bake for 20 minutes. Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup.

Note: The prep time does not include the overnight soak time for the bread.

• Per serving, based on 8 servings: 324 calories; 11 grams protein; 40 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams fat (7 saturated, 4 monounsaturated, 1 polyunsaturated); 134 milligrams cholesterol; 492 milligrams sodium; 1 gram fiber; 14 grams sugar; 34 percent calories from fat