A Variation on A Theme

One of the things I really like about our smaller world is that when a cook finds a good recipe, it's incumbent upon them to try to improve on it and the cooking world has gotten smaller and smaller.  It's as if each cook share their recipes and their neighbor, like an old friend, says, "Have you tried this?"  And they are off!

There has been a great trend for do-ahead breakfasts.  I, myself, am a fan.  I love breakfast in the morning, breakfast in the evening, breakfast at suppertime.  So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it even though we had posted something similar before.

OVERNIGHT BLUEBERRY FRENCH TOAST

12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes.
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup fresh blueberries
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon butter

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.  Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes.  Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese and top with remaining bread cubes.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup.  Pour over the bread cubes.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C)

Cover and bake for 30 minutes.  Uncover and continue baking for 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.

In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water.  Bring to a boil stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes.  Mix in the remaining 1 cup of blueberries.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst.  Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French Toast.

Source:  Allrecipes.com  Originally posted by Karan1946

Cook's note:  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture with the sauce, which is too bad because it was prettier and made it quite tasty.  We tried this on our own with raspberries and the result wasn't as good.  Perhaps I didn't use enough.  The sauce really helped, too.  This could be replicated with any kind of berry, I think.  Yum.