Orange-infused Mascarpone French Toast

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb mascarpone cheese, at close to room temperature
• 5 tablespoons orange marmalade
• 1 orange, zest of, grated
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• butter, for cooking french toast
• 12 slices challah, each 1/2 inch thick (the original recipe calls for brioche)

Recipe

• 1 make the mascarpone: in a small bowl, mix the mascarpone, marmalade, grated orange zest, honey and salt.
• 2 refrigerate until needed.
• 3 make the french toast batter: in a bowl, mix together the orange juice, milk, eggs, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla.
• 4 pour into a baking dish or pie plate.
• 5 melt a little butter in a large saute pan over medium-low heat.
• 6 dip the challah slices quickly into batter on both sides and place 6 slices into the pan (you may need to use two large pans to make all the french toast at one time).
• 7 let the infused mascarpone come to room temperature so it's easier to spread.
• 8 use a tablespoon or knife to spread some of the cream on each piece of bread in the pan, keeping a 1/2-inch border all around the bread free from the mascarpone.
• 9 cover each mascarpone-slathered piece of challah with another slice of bread that has been dipped in the batter.
• 10 cook the french toast"sandwiches" until golden brown on one side, carefully flip them over and cook until the second side is golden brown, adding more butter as needed.
• 11 to serve, place a french toast sandwich on each plate.
• 12 enjoy!