Banana French Toast With Rum Cream

For Rum Cream: The day before serving, melt the butter in a skillet. Add the banana slices and saute until golden on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Stir the brown sugar and rum into the butter left in the skillet. Cook, stirring, until sugar turns to a thick sludge. Stir in the cream. Boil until mixture thickens slightly. Pour into a jar or bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

For French Toast: The day before serving, pile one-third of the bread cubes into a buttered 2-quart casserole dish. Scatter half of the fried bananas over the bread. Add one-third more bread and the remaining fried bananas. Top with remaining bread.

Whisk together the sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour over bread in casserole. Weight down the mixture with a plate that is slightly smaller than the casserole to keep bread cubes submerged in custard. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, remove foil and plate from casserole. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven until custard has set and top begins to brown, about 40 minutes.

Heat rum cream briefly in the microwave. Pile French toast mixture into stemmed glasses. Top each serving with a spoonful of rum cream.