This is what happen when you are clocking over one year of staying at home ( Covid-19 to be blamed) and want to please all the family members! I bought a delicious Challah bread from the amazing Karma Bread in London and wanted to make French toast, my sister was fancying croquet-monsieur and Ryan just wanted to try Fontina cheese, so our Challah bread French toast Italian croque monsieur was born!

It’s pure indulgence and deliciousness, perfect for a gloomy and rainy January day in London!

Ingredients

• 6 Slices Challah bread
• 150g Thin slices of cooked ham (about 9 slices)
• 120g Grated cheese (Classic recipe asks for Gruyere, I use Brigante or Fontina)
• 100ml Béchamel (store bought)
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Almond milk (any other milk will work) + 2/s tsp for the béchamel
• 1/4 tsp Ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4tsp Pepper
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• Pure Canadian maple syrup for drizzling

Method

1. Mix the eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a large baking dish.

2. Add half a teaspoon of milk, salt and pepper to the béchamel and mix to make it smoother. If making béchamel from scratch, ensure it’s not too thick.

3. Soak 3 slices of challah bread in the egg mixture, then place them in baking tray.

4. Evenly spread half of the béchamel on the slices of bread ensuring you go all the way to the edges. Top the with the ham and half of cheese.

5. Soak the remaining slices of bread in the egg mixture and place them of the ham and cheese. Spread the remaining béchamel and sprinkle the cheese over the bread.

6. Spoon any leftover egg mixture on the bread and the base of the baking tin.

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7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190C Fan for 25 minutes

8. Serve it warm with a generous drizzle of maple syrup and a cup of coffee!

Enjoy making it and let me know if you have any comments or questions!

If you want to make this recipe and share it on your social media please tag me using @prepandproperrecipes and the tag #prepandproperrecipes and #easyfunyummy