Buttery Baked Vanilla Bean French Toast

This decadent make-ahead wonder is a riff on a recipe from one of my best friends. Her mom adds bits of chopped apple and some cinnamon in the mix, and to make things extra Midwestern, a bit more butter and sugar. It’s divine. This formula is lighter and a touch fancier, calling for brioche or challah instead of plain white bread and a sprinkling of toasty almonds and fragrant Vanilla Sugar.