Overnight Blueberry French Toast - Win-omnomnom

Having guests over for breakfast / brunch? Need to feed a lot of people with little fuss? Give this recipe a try!

This past Christmas the Hubby and I had my parents and brother over - that is 5 adults (7 if you consider that sometimes my brother and Hubby can eat for 2 - each) and a picky kid - all over at my humble abode. I didn't want to spend hours or even 'hour' in the kitchen on Christmas day and was SO glad when I came across this fabulous recipe.
Make the night before. Toss in oven while presents are opened and coffee is sipped. Toss some tasty meat products (we did maple & brown sugar sausages) in a pan while french toast heaven is in final baking stages. Then CONSUME!

I did not make the syrup listed in the recipe (I ran out of berries), however it was just as fantastic with regular maple syrup. And I used the real stuff, none of that fake table syrup for this recipe. 

omnomnomnom

This recipe served everyone and we still had leftovers. The 'crust' was a little crispy, but not over done and the inside pieces had absorbed all the eggy goodness without going soggy. The cream cheese was warm and gave the whole thing a really nice texture and taste against the sweet syrup and berries.
I would have maybe sprayed/buttered the pan a little more heavily - it was a pain to clean and soaked for about 24hours before I could even wash it. But that won't stop me making it again!

Link is below...

OVERNIGHT BLUEBERRY FRENCH TOASTFound recipe on: Real Mom Kitchen

French Toast:

12 slices bread, cut into cubes (french or Texas toast work well.  I prefer Texas Toast.)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut in cubes
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
12 large eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups milk (I use 1 cup milk and 1 cup cream)

Syrup:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 Tablespoon butter  

Arrange 1/2 of the bread cubes in a greased 9 x 13 pan.
Sprinkle cream cheese cubes and blueberries evenly over the bread cubes.
Top with remaining bread cubes.
Mix together eggs, milk, and syrup.
Pour over bread cubes and cover pan with foil. Let chill in refrigerator overnight.
Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until fluffy and golden. Top with sauce.

Serves 8.

Sauce: Cook water, sugar, and cornstarch until thickened. Stir in blueberries and simmer for 10 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted. Serve over the french toast. 

I found the recipe here http://www.chef-in-training.com/2011/05/overnight-blueberry-french-toast/

Have a happy breakfast!


Additional note - I made this for Easter but I halved the recipe. Still turned out great, just slightly shorter cooking time (about 40 min for me)