Berry French Toast

I have been making this for Christmas morning for about 10 years now.  We all love it.  Great combo of bread, eggs and lots of fruit.  You can serve it with bacon, ham or whatever your heart desires.  It’s also great left over and warmed up the next morning or the morning after that (if there is any left, that is)!

I finally was able to take pictures (not possible on Christmas morning :/) because my husband and I were invited to a brunch on New Year’s day and I thought this would be perfect to bring.  I also figured out how to prep the casserole for the evening before so it wasn’t so daunting to put together the morning of.  So this is a great strategy for Christmas Eve for Christmas morning.

I also have done ALOT of different things with this casserole to come to this point, so learn from my mistakes:

The casserole cannot be put together entirely the night before.  Trust me it was not great.

The French bread they suggest was bland, no flavor.

I used 12 ounces of Cinnamon Bread, unsliced, from Hannaford’s Supermarket:  no.

I added 1 more whole egg:  not necessary.

Then I tried 12 ounces of Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl Bread, sliced.  This turned out the best but not enough bread.

Finally I used the whole loaf of Pepperidge Farm bread, and this turned out to be perfect.

Also, for the frozen blueberries, blackberries and raspberries I used a mix of these berries rather than getting individual frozen bags of each.  Wyman’s of Maine Triple Berry Blend or Trader Joe’s Fancy Berry Medley.  Though if these are not available to you I would suggest getting individual bags of each (see the link to the original recipe from Cooking Light) rather than getting mixed berries with strawberries and removing the strawberries.  Unless you love frozen strawberries and can put them to use.

Berry French Toast adapted from Cooking Light April 2004

5 cups of frozen mixed berries (blueberries, blackberries and raspberries NO STRAWBERRIES)

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup milk (fat free, 1%, 2% whatever you have on hand)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 large egg whites

1 large egg

1, 16 ounce loaf of Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl Bread

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Place berries, sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon into prepared 13 x 9 inch baking dish and toss together until thoroughly combined.  You might have to move the sugar mixture around a bit.

Cut bread into 3/4 to 1 inch cubes.

Combine milk, vanilla, egg whites, and egg in a large bowl.  Stir together with a whisk until thoroughly combined.  Add bread and toss together until the bread is coated and the liquid is nearly gone.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

Arrange bread in a single layer over berries.  Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes until berry mixture is bubbly and the bread  is golden brown.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

To prep for the night before so you can put it together quickly the next morning:

Cut the bread into cubes and put in large Ziploc bag.

Combine the milk, vanilla, egg whites and egg in medium bowl, stir together with a whisk and cover with plastic wrap to seal.  Put in refrigerator and place bag of cubed bread on top.

Combine the sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in a small plastic container with lid and set aside on counter.

Have a tablespoon, the sugar and powdered sugar on the counter with the sugar mixture.

Place a 9 x 13 glass baking dish next to the above with the cooking spray.

You are now all set for the next morning.

As soon as you get up, put the oven on and combine the egg mixture with the bread.

Spray the baking dish and put the frozen berries into it and sprinkle with the sugar mixture, toss to combine.

When the oven has come to temperature, arrange the bread on top of the berries and sprinkle with the sugar.

Continue as above.

mis en place:

mix berries with sugar mixture:

cubed bread then toss with egg mixture:

spread bread mixture over berry mixture:

out of the oven, 30-45 minutes:

Yum!