Overnight Maple French Toast

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Overnight Maple French Toast

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar                         

½ cup maple syrup                                                   

1 Tbl. margarine or butter                                       

10 (1 inch thick) slices French bread                     

4 eggs                                                                      

1 1/2 cups skim milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cups sliced strawberries

1 to 2 Tbl powdered sugar

Spray 13x9 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.  In medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, syrup and margarine.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Boil 1 minute.  Pour syrup mixture evenly in bottom of sprayed pan.  Arrange bread slices in even layer over syrup mixture.  Set aside.  In large bowl, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt; beat with wire whisk until smooth.  Pour evenly over bread in pan.  Cover; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.  To bake, heat oven to 350 degrees.  Uncover pan; bake 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned.  To serve, top each serving with sliced strawberries’ sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Note: maple syrup hardens in bottom of pan when cooled, so try to store toast syrup-side-up in a separate container before it cools.