Averie Cooks

-1 Spray a 9x13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside.
-1 To a medium bowl, add the melted butter, brown sugar, and stir to combine. Mixture will have the consistency of wet sand. Scatter this mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. You will not have complete coverage; set pan aside.
-1 To a large bowl, add the eggs, and lightly beat to break the yolks and combine.
-1 Add the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and whisk to combine.
-1 Add the bread to the bowl and toss well, but lightly, with a spatula to evenly coat the bread in the egg-milk mixture.
-1 Turn bread out into the prepared pan, cover pan, and place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or up to 12 hours overnight.
-1 Preheat oven to 350F and remove pan from the fridge while oven is preheating. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the caramel sauce underneath is lightly bubbling and the top of the bread is slightly crusted over and lightly browned.
-1 Immediately after you take the casserole dish out of the oven, place a very large serving platter over the casserole dish and invert it so the casserole 'plops' out onto the serving platter. Use caution since the casserole dish is hot and heavy.
-1 Using a spatula, scrape any caramel sauce from the baking dish onto the French toast casserole.
-1 Optionally, if desired, lightly drizzle extra caramel or salted caramel sauce over the top, and/or lightly drizzle maple syrup, and serve immediately.
-1 Recipe is best warm and fresh.