Ingredients :
1 large loaf of French bread
8 large eggs
2 1/4 cups milk
1 cup plus 4-5 T sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 T vanilla extract
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp cinnamon
3 T unsalted butter
Instructions :
Combine eggs, milk, 1 cup sugar, salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, vanilla, orange juice, and 2 T melted butter in a large bowl. Whisk together until well incorporated. Use remaining butter to butter a 9×13 baking pan heavily. Slice bread into 1/2″ thick slices and then cut slices into cubes. Combine remaining cinnamon and 1 T sugar. Add bread cubes to the pan and toss with cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour custard mixture over bread cubes, pressing cubes down with a spoon to thoroughly soak the bread. Cover with foil and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Bake approximately 40-50 minutes until golden brown and set. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining 3-4 T of sugar over the top of the casserole in an even, dense layer. Set broiler on high and return to oven or use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar. The sugar will turn brown and liquefy and then harden as it cools. Serve warm with maple syrup if desired.
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