Apple-Cinnamon Baked French Toast

September is four days away and the tomato plant is winding down—the last few tomatoes on the vine, the leaves yellowing at the edges, the whole structure of the summer garden starting to let go. I'll pull it out this week and put the pot in the corner and think about what to plant next year. More tomatoes. Maybe peppers. Maybe more basil, which I ran out of in July.

Liam is talking in paragraphs now. Not paragraphs in the adult sense—but connected thoughts, three or four words in a row that have a through-line. "Daddy make pancake" is the current most-used sentence, delivered every Saturday morning while standing at the kitchen door before Sean is up. The first time he said it was three weeks ago and Sean came downstairs to that sentence being announced at volume from the kitchen and made the pancakes with an expression I cannot describe except to say: he was very pleased to be needed in that specific way.

I've been thinking about the apartment. Not unhappily—just thinking about the space and what Liam needs and what we need as he grows. He has a room and it fits him now and it won't always. The neighborhood is where I'm from and I'm not going anywhere. But the shape of what we need is starting to shift and I'm noting it the way you note a change in the light: early, before it's urgent, so you're not surprised when it arrives.

Apple cake on Sunday, the first of the season, because September is two days away and September means apples and apples mean cake.

I didn’t make the apple cake — not yet — but I made this instead, Sunday morning while Liam stood at the kitchen door announcing his pancake request to no one in particular and Sean was still asleep. It’s close enough: apples, cinnamon, something warm from the oven that smells like the season shifting. The Apple-Cinnamon Baked French Toast goes together the night before, which means Sunday morning is mostly just waiting and coffee, and that felt exactly right for a weekend that was already asking me to be patient with the pace of things changing.

Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus overnight rest) | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour (plus overnight) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 loaf (about 1 lb) French or Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
6 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Powdered sugar or maple syrup, for serving

Instructions

Prepare the dish. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread half the bread cubes in an even layer across the bottom.
Layer the apples. Arrange the sliced apples evenly over the bread, then top with the remaining bread cubes.
Make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, granulated sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until fully combined.
Soak the bread. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the layered bread and apples, pressing down gently so all the bread absorbs the liquid. Scatter the brown sugar and butter pieces over the top.
Rest overnight. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Bake. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the dish from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Bake uncovered for 40–45 minutes, until the top is golden and the custard is set in the center.
Serve. Let rest for 5 minutes before scooping into portions. Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with maple syrup.

Nutrition (per serving)

Apple-Cinnamon Baked French Toast — The First Bake of Almost-September