Overnight Caramel Banana French Toast (Recipe)

Saturday is the one day that my family has the chance to sit down together for a leisurely breakfast.  I like to make something special, and preferably something that can be prepared the day before.  Some favorites have been sourdough coffee cake, blueberry buckle, and sourdough banana bread.
 
My husband and son like french toast, especially when it's stuffed with bananas.  But because of some weird allergy thing, I can't eat french toast.  (I'm okay with eggs and okay with butter--but eggs cooked in butter give me an allergic reaction.  Go figure.)  So I was looking for a casserole-type french toast recipe that would eliminate the pan-frying.
 
Lo and behold, Holly posted a recipe for Overnight Caramel French Toast.  I had to try it, but you know I can't make anything without changing up the recipe.  I made two changes:

• Remembering the topping for Quick Caramel Chocolate Rolls, I combined the topping ingredients and spread the mixture directly in the prepared pan (without cooking it on the stovetop).
• I added a layer of sliced bananas between the two layers of bread.  This necessitated another change, because the banana layer prevented the lower layer of bread from getting saturated with egg mixture.  What I ended up doing was mixing another egg with 1/4 cup milk and a few drops of vanilla, then pouring that over the banana layer.  Next time I'll pour a little of the egg mixture directly onto the first layer of bread before I add the bananas and second layer of bread.

So here is the recipe, based on Holly's recipe but with my own spin:

Overnight Caramel Banana French Toast

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
 
Egg mixture:
6 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt, optional

For assembly:
12 slices bread (I used plain old packaged white bread)
2 or 3 bananas, sliced thinly

1. Combine brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup.  Spread evenly in a greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
2. Layer 6 slices of bread over the topping mixture.  (For the bread that I used, six slices just fit in the dish.)
3. Blend eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt.  Pour about one-quarter of the mixture, as evenly as possible, over the bread slices in the baking dish.
4. Add a single layer of bananas to the pan, then the remaining six slices of bread.
5. Pour the remaining egg mixture, as evenly as possible, over the bread.
6. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
7. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.  When done, the eggs will be set, the top surface will be lightly browned, and the caramel will be bubbly.  Serve immediately, inverting the slices if desired.

I'm linking up!