We had this on our faux Covid honeymoon, driving down the west coast of the US.
It was fantastic and the host used a brioche bread for it; perfect for our Shokupan!
Ingredients (serves 8)
• 1 loaf (14-16 slices) of JayPan Shokupan
• 250g sliced ham
• 7-8 Swiss cheese slices
• Dijon or french mustard
• 1 tablespoon of your favorite jam (we use raspberry)
• 1½ cups shredded Gruyere cheese
• 1¾ cups whole milk
• 8 large eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• powdered sugar, maple syrup and warm raspberry jam to finish
Method
1. Grease a 9x13 pan
2. Lay out the slices of bread like you are making sandwiches - aim for about 7-8 sandwiches, but depends how thick you cut the loaf
3. On one half of the "sandwich" lay out sliced ham and top with the sliced Swiss cheese
4. Spread raspberry jam over the cheese as best you can
5. On the other slice of bread, spread out the mustard to cover the bread
6. assemble "sandwiches" and cut them crosswise into 4 triangles
7. Place the sandwich triangles point side up in your casserole pan getting them as even as possible. You will have to really push to get them all in.
9. Whisk your eggs, milk, salt and pepper
10. Pour the egg mixture over the triangles and sprinkle with Gruyere. Cover and chill overnight.
11. When you are ready to cook, bring the Monte Cristo to room temperature (45 minutes or so) and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
12. Bake for at least 45 minutes. If it is still jiggly in the middle, cover and continue baking for another 15 minutes. All ovens are different. Feel free to cook longer still if you find it's still undercooked in the centre.
13. Remove and let set for at least 10 minutes before cutting into it.
14. Dust with powdered sugar, drizzle with maple syrup and dot warm raspberry jam over the top before serving.