Ingredients
- topping:
- 1/3 cup (5 Tbs) butter or non-dairy alternative (Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar or coconut palm sugar
- 1 loaf gluten-free sandwich bread or French bread (3-5 days old/stale or thawed from frozen works best)
- 6 eggs (or 1 1/2 cups apple butter, canned pumpkin or mashed bananas)
- 1 1/4 cups soy or coconut nog (note: if using egg substitutes above, add extra 1/4 – 1/2 cup nog to thin the mixture) OR your favorite cream or milk
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (optional)
- confectioner’s sugar for dusting (optional)
- pure maple syrup if serving for breakfast
- vanilla yogurt to the top (optional) –
Preparation
Step 1
Melt butter/Buttery Sticks and pour to cover the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle enough brown sugar/coconut palm sugar to cover. Reserve approximately 1/4 cup sugar to sprinkle on top of the casserole before baking.
Slice gluten-free bread 1 inch thick. Lay slices on top of butter/sugar coated dish. The slices may overlap slightly, if necessary.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs/egg substitute, nog, vanilla, and spices. Pour over top of the bread-lined pan, evenly coating each slice. Sprinkle remaining sugar, nuts and/or blueberries on top and cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350° F (static) or 325° F (convection).
Remove plastic wrap from the casserole and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for 35 minutes. The bread should have soaked up most of the liquid at this point; if not, remove the foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes.
Serve with syrup or coconut yogurt, or a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar just before serving.