By Rob Corliss
March 22, 2021

Brunch has long provided chefs an opportunity to express culinary creativity and set their operation apart from the competition. Both savory and sweet bakes offer a comfort-centric, friendly format for innovative brunch builds. An easy strategy is transitioning a few of your operation’s well-known menu favorites into comforting bakes.

We’ve compiled ideas that could be positioned as take-home bakes, ready for a guest to re-therm and enjoy at home. They may also be baked, scooped and plated as a dine-in offering, either formatted as a shareable or single serve.

“Try This”

Savory Bakes

• Maple Chicken & Waffles Casserole: Two stacked layers of crispy waffles and fried chicken strips immersed in maple-white cheddar egg batter; baked
• Carnitas Tamale Bake: Tender carnitas topped with red enchilada sauce, griddled peppers/onions, grated Mexican cheese blend and a cornmeal dough/batter crust topper; baked
• Tater Tot, Bacon & Egg Strata: Croissant egg strata loaded with fried tater tots, chunks of crispy maple bacon, grated cheddar cheese; baked
• Pimento Cheese Denver “Omelette” Bake: Diced sautéed ham/green bell peppers/onions, pimento cheese spread, roasted fingerling potato slices, egg batter; baked
• Scalloped Sweet Potato & Ham Bake: Creamy, cheesy slices of scalloped sweet potatoes embedded with layers of shaved Virginia ham and minced green apple; baked
• B-fast Biscuits & Gravy Bake: Crispy shredded hash browns topped with scrambled eggs, chunky breakfast sausage gravy, grated pepper Jack cheese and a top layer of buttermilk drop biscuits; baked

Sweet Bakes

• Monkey Bread Pudding Bake: Caramel monkey bread pudding (loaded with cinnamon, walnuts and golden raisins); baked and drizzled with bourbon-vanilla anglaise
• Chocolate Waffle & Banana Bake: Crispy chocolate waffle pieces, chunks of fresh banana and butterscotch chips covered with cocoa custard; baked and dusted with powdered sugar
• Baked Oatmeal “Cobbler”: Extra creamy oatmeal topped with a layer of fresh mixed berries and a brown-sugar streusel; baked and drizzled with orange blossom honey
• Pancake Soufflé Bake: Blueberry, lemon and crushed almond soufflé pancake batter; baked and smeared with whipped cream cheese glaze and a drizzle of cayenne-maple syrup
• Overnight Doughnut Bake: Overlapping slices of glazed doughnuts covered with an egg/cream mixture, soaked overnight; baked and topped with whole roasted strawberries (and their natural syrup)

FEATURED RECIPE

Photo credit: Smithfield Culinary

Turn the Brazilian sandwich called the bauru into a hearty, craveable brunch bake. This Breakfast Bauru layers hickory smoked ham, mozzarella and scrambled egg over Texas toast, then tops the bake with a rich blend of cream, Dijon, Parmesan and mayo. A sprinkle of Parmesan and mozzarella add a cheesy crust.

GET THE RECIPE FOR BREAKFAST BAURU