Pumpkin Baked French Toast

I am posting tonight for 2 reasons:

1. My boys went absolutely nuts over this recipe. Like 3 helpings...

2. For my dear Grandma Goodwin (technically Dan's grandma, but I claim her, too). This comes out very soft and is so delicious with real maple syrup on top. I think it could make her happy.

Pumpkin Baked French Toast

(Serves 4-6)

• 3 1/2 cups cubed bread (I used Ezekiel, but other types are fine. French bread would be really good in this recipe, as would cinnamon-raisin. Depending on the type of bread, you might need more or less than 3.5 cups. You want enough to fill an 8×8 pan.) (175g) (I (Melissa) used day-old homemade bread)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or just add a little extra cinnamon)
• sweetener of choice (If you want to top the casserole with syrup post-baking, use 3 nunaturals stevia packs or 3 tbsp sugar. If you’d prefer a sweeter breakfast casserole that needs no topping, increase the amount to 5-6 tbsp)
• 1 1/4 cups milk of choice (300g)
• optional: 2 tbsp butter-type spread of choice (for a more buttery result) (30g)
• 1 cup MoriNu silken-firm tofu, or 1 cup yogurt of choice (240g)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used canned pumpkin) (120g) 
• optional: handful of raisins

In a very large bowl, combine first 5 ingredients and stir well. In a separate bowl, combine all remaining ingredients and stir very well. (If using the tofu, you should blend liquid ingredients. Otherwise, just stir by hand.) Grease an 8×8-in baking pan, and pour dry ingredients into pan. Cover evenly with the wet mixture, then cover the entire dish with a lid or saran wrap and fridge overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 400 F and cook about 30 minutes. Top with maple syrup or your favorite French toast topping (or eat plain, if you opt to use the extra dry sweetener pre-baking.)

from http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/11/04/pumpkin-baked-french-toast/ (this website is AMAZING.)