Brioche French Toast with Brown Sugar Cranberry Syrup

Christmas Breakfast! Oh yes, you must........because I can't begin to describe how divine this tastes! What else can you expect from Zoe Nathan? Something magical happens when you use brioche bread to make French toast.  Have you noticed? Nice thick slices soaked in eggs and cream. So extravagant and so perfect for breakfast on Christmas.
You can make the syrup the day ahead (this syrup is wonderful with anything, be sure to try it) and the bread can also be made in advance and frozen. Use your own recipe for the brioche loaf....mine will be in an upcoming post. Or hopefully, you have a French bakery nearby that has a lovely loaf of brioche! 

Brioche French Toast with Brown Sugar Cranberry Syrup
From Huckleberry by Zoe Nathan

Ingredients:
For the cranberry sauce:
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed and chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
4 large strips of orange zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup heavy cream

For the French toast:
6 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Unsalted butter, for greasing
Twelve 1-inch-thick slices of brioche (1 pound)

Method:
The cranberry sauce:
In a medium saucepan, combine the chopped cranberries with the light brown sugar, orange zest, salt and 2 tablespoons of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries are soft and the sauce is ruby-colored, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the cranberry mixture from the heat and whisk in the butter and heavy cream. Cook over moderately low heat, whisking, until the butter is completely melted and the sauce is hot, about 3 minutes. Discard the orange zest. Keep the cranberry sauce warm over very low heat. (The cranberry sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat gently before serving.)

The French toast:
Preheat the oven to 225°. In a large baking dish, whisk the eggs with the heavy cream, light brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Heat a large cast-iron griddle and lightly butter it. Working in batches, dip half of the brioche slices in the egg mixture, turning them, until they are well-moistened. Transfer the soaked brioche to the griddle and cook over moderate heat, turning once, until the French toast is golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer the French toast to a baking sheet, cover loosely with aluminum foil and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining brioche slices. Serve the French toast with the cranberry sauce. The recipe suggests topping with whipped cream, but it's just too much. A sprinkling of confectioners sugar is all and I didn't even use that.