Buttermilk is the secret to this French toast

Kick off your Easter Sunday with a simple and delicious recipe with Southern flair. Buttermilk is the secret to this oven-baked French toast recipe.

Ivy Odom, the host of Southern Living's "Hey Y'all," shared the recipe for this mouth-watering dish with "Good Morning America."

Get the full recipe below.

Oven-Baked Buttermilk French Toast Recipe

Serves 8

Active Time: 15 Mins

Total Time: 2 Hours

Ingredients:

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups whole buttermilk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 Tbsp. fresh juice (from 1 lemon)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

27 (1/2-inch-thick) French bread slices (from about 12 oz. bread)

Pure maple syrup, powdered sugar and fresh berries

Directions:

Lightly coat a 13- x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, cream, granulated sugar, lemon zest and juice, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl. Working with one slice at a time, dip bread in egg mixture to completely saturate on both sides. Shingle soaked bread slices in prepared baking dish. Let stand at room temperature for one hour.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Meanwhile, pour out and discard any egg mixture that has accumulated at the bottom of the baking dish. Transfer baking dish to the oven and bake French toast until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Remove dish from oven; let stand 15 minutes. Serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar and berries.