Baked Apple Cider French Toast with Apple Bread

Take a look at how long this recipe is! Content wise, this is going to be a brief post; I'll let the recipe do all the talking this time :). It took me awhile to type it out! Because it's so long, and because I promised to give out a few awards today (I'll just be handing out one this evening, I need to find a way to get back some of the links I lost!), I'm skipping Thingies Thursday this week. Sheesh, I'm even getting behind with posting recipes, I have 2 more of those to post as well. (Scroll down to see the awards. :)

This made-up recipe uses gluten-free apple bread and some of my favorite spices. I had some bread left over from an earlier kitchen adventure and I'm always craving breakfast foods, so I made french toast. Of course, it gives a brief nod to some fall flavors...(I just can't get over how beautiful it is here in Boston during the fall, and this is just the beginning). Anyhow, I love the smell of apples and cinnamon, so I added a good amount of those ingredients. The cider I used is local and sooo sooo delicious. The baked french toast tastes like apple pie! This recipe is definitely a lengthy one, but the results are worth all the mixing and measuring :)!

INGREDIENTS

For the Apple Bread
1 cup bread mix (this mix is from the book Gluten-free Baking Classics; a 2 cup mix consists of 2/3 cup millet flour, 1/3 cup sorghum flour, 1/6 part corn starch, 1/6 parts potato starch, 1/6 part tapioca flour)

For the rest of the bread:
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp apple pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup lowfat milk
2 eggs
4 TBSP honey
1/4 hot apple juice
1 large fuji apple, cut into cubes
2 1/2 tsp yeast
3 TBSP canola oil

For the french toast:
Bottom layer:
10 slices of bread
1/4 apple cider
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup vanilla rice milk
1/2 cup white rice flour
1 uncooked but scrambled egg

For the apple layer:
1/2 cup apple cider
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp white rice flour

For the top layer:
1 1/2 TBSP melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 TBSP apple cider

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Bread:
Combine all the flours, xanthan gum, gelatin, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix well.

In another large bowl, combine brown sugar, apple pie spice, honey, milk, apple juice, and canola oil.

In a small bowl, scramble eggs.

Mix the eggs in with the wet ingredients. Mix until smooth. Pour these ingredients into the flour bowl slowly, folding in the wet ingredients until dough is formed.

Put bread dough in a greased 9" loaf pan. Cover with a clean cloth and let the dough rise for an hour in a dark room.

Bake bread in a preheated 400 degree oven. Bake for 15 minutes uncovered. Then cover pan with foil and bake for another 35-40 minutes. Allow bread to cool.

You can make the french toast the next morning, it's best to refrigerate the bread.

For the french toast:
Line a 9 inch nonstick cake pan with bread slices.

Get a medium sized bowl. Scramble the egg in the bowl, then add the cider and milk. Slowly mix in the rice flour. Stir until smooth then add the powdered sugar in the same way. Pour the mixture over the apple bread. Set aside.

For the apple layer:
Slice apples into wedges, about 1/2 inch thick. In a sauce pan, add the apple cider, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Mix on low heat for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Slowly mix in the rice flour. Once the liquid mixture is smooth, add the apple slices and cook over a medium/low flame until the mix is thickened and concentrated, will have a molasses-like texture.

For the top layer:
Melt butter. Combing butter with apple cider in a medium sized bowl. Mix in rice flour, then add the brown sugar. Should have a thick and somewhat grainy texture.

Assembling the french toast before baking:
Pour the apple layer over the saturated bread, make sure the apples are well distributed over the bread, level with a fork. 'Crumble' or set the top layer over the apples, level this top layer as well.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes. Allow the french toast to cool slightly, but eat warm :). Store in refrigerated covered in foil. Serve in bowls the next day, heat in microwave for about 30 seconds before serving.

Thanks so much, My Life is Yummy for the Yum-Yum Blog Award! I'd now like to pass this award along to:
SnookyDoodle: She has the cutest desserts. All of them are made with so much love and care, and take a look at her cupcakes! Her blog is pure eye candy :).
Feeding Maybelle: Her food is fresh and tasty, not to mention nicely photographed. Her recipes are so inspiring!
Meet Me in the Kitchen: Everything she makes makes my mouth water! Her blog is a yummy buffet for the senses!
Honeyed Hashette: This is a sweet gal who knows how to make a sweet cupcake. She's the cupcake master!
Healthy Indulgences: Healthy gluten-free recipes that are oh so tasty and sugar-free? Wow! Very Impressive :).

Ok, folks, 2 more awards to give away! Stay tuned :).

Blog Awards!

Sorry for the delay, but I finally posted the actual awards :)!

So I have 3 more blog awards to give away, and instead of posting them 3 different times, I decided to give them all away at once! Who cares about the suspense! Don't you want to know who the winners are now :)?! Since I was nominated for the Arte y Pico award twice, I figured I'd pass it along to 6 bloggers instead of 3. This is going to be a lengthy award post :)!

I'll start with the Arte y Pico award. Lina and Sharon both nominated me for this award. You girls are really lovely, and I'm a big fan of each of your blogs :). Lina's been traveling around Europe for a few weeks now, sharing her fun travel and foodie adventures on her blog all the while! Sharon's blog is always a fun read...this gal is dedicated to making a great grilled pizza! ;) Read about her pizza adventure here.



The Arte Y Pico award

Flexitarian Menu: Who I know as cookingpanda :). Her recipes are always delicious and colorful. Every one of her pictures is mouthwatering. I love that she primarily blogs about savory food - she never runs out of ideas for delicious and healthy recipes!

The Sugar Bar: Rebekka is the same blogger behind Maple Sugar, The Sugar Bar is her new baking blog. I'm a big fan of the sweets she posts on Maple Sugar and look forward to the new recipes she posts on her new baking blog!

The Healthy Baker: After having some issues with her health, Sarah learned how to create delicious recipes that are also healthy. Even when she feels a little under the weather, she still manages to post yummy recipes on her blog :).

She Who Eats: Beautiful pictures of food and Japan. Her blog is a feast for the eyes :).

My Cake Wardrobe: Fashion, fun, AND food come together in this blog. What a great combo - never a dull post :)!

LemonPi: Because the cupcake on her header is so cute, I just want to give him a hug...and her recipes are also mighty tasty!




The Blog of Excellence award
Janna's the thoughtful gal who honored Flour Arrangements with this award. I was actually hoping it would've been someone else, because I certainly would've nominated her blog for the Blog of Excellence award! I love her comedic writing style, one of my favorite quotes so far is, "I'm like a birthday baking dj, except I spin icing and not records." :)

Palachinka: Because she can make even an Atlantic Meckerel look beautiful! I don't know how she does it, but everything she features on her blog is almost too pretty to eat...almost ;)!

Pretty Tasty Cakes: The name of her blog says it all ;)!

Baking Obsession: Just take a look at that Danish Braid! That's just a tiny glimmer of this blogger's talent!




The Spreader of Love award
The Culinary Princess honored me with this sweet award. She was one of the first bloggers to comment on my blog :)...when she's not busy studying for those tough medical exams, she shares her love of food with the world, one recipe and photo at a time :).

Fig & Cherry: Large and delicious looking photos are what bring her blog to life! Anyone who loves to look at tasty food will find her blog appealing :).

Gifts from the Kitchen: From the sweet to the savory, She captures her love of food elegantly.

Kitchen Wench: I have a feeling she's probably been nominated for countless awards already, but I'd like to recognize the way she shares her heritage with food. These family recipes are definitely made with quite a bit of love.

Congrats! :)

Blog of Distinction Award

A couple of weeks ago, the lovely Camilla from Enlightened Cooking awarded Flour Arrangements the Blog of Distinction Award. It was an unexpected surprise! I felt honored to receive this award from Camilla, considering she's such a talented cook. She creates healthy and tasty recipes that make my mouth water; nearly each post includes the nutritional value of the meal she blogged about that day!

Camilla mentioned that she liked the design of my blog, I was flattered, but I definitely can't take credit for it. Sharnee is the talented gal who created the perfectly pink, vintage-cookbook inspired layout for Flour Arrangements. (Can you believe she even offers really cute free templates?! You can check those out by clicking here.)

Thanks again, Camilla, for this sweet award!

There are two other awards I'll be passing along in the next couple of weeks, but I felt each award should have its own entry :)...so here are the 3 'Blog of Distinction' award winners:

Celine from Have Cake Will Travel. Her blog features healthy, vegan desserts that taste amazing! I've tested out her recipes and they're delicious. She has more than a knack for photography; every picture she takes is flawlessly delicious!

Grace from A Southern Grace. I love how down-to-earth her blog is! She has a fun and entertaining way of writing about the sweet treats she bakes up. Plus, she knows how to make great pink cupcakes!

Emiline from Sugarplum. She has a real passion for desserts; she only posts recipes she creates! That's pretty amazing. Emiline has an unpretentious approach to blogging; her sense of humor makes reading her blog entries a real treat.

Every day I come across another cool blog! Choosing the winners of this particular award wasn't easy; thank goodness I still have 2 more awards to give away :)!