Sunrise Landing’s Baked Blueberry French Toast

Baked Blueberry French Toast
A favorite breakfast entree at Sunrise Landing Bed and Breakfast on beautiful Seneca Lake – served with blueberry sauce, and rum soaked,sliced bananas

Approximately 12 slices of homemade type white bread (Dense bread to cover bottom of pan. Number of slices will vary depending on size of bread used. I use Monk’s Bread)
1 1/2 8-ounce packages of cold cream cheese (I use reduced fat)
1 cup blueberries –( when not in season, I use Dole frozen blueberries)
12 large eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Trim crusts from bread and discard. Cut the cream cheese into 1 inch cubes. Arrange half the bread slices in a buttered 9 X 13 baking dish (approximate size ). Scatter the cream cheese over the bread and top with blueberries. Arrange remaining bread slices over the blueberries. Whisk together eggs, syrup, milk and pour over bread. Let chill, covered, overnight. Bake, covered with foil, in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for approximately 30 minutes longer (should be nicely browned). Remove from oven – let rest, covered with a towel for about 10 minutes before cutting.

Blueberry sauce:
Combine 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until mixture thickens. Stir in 1 cup blueberries and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until blueberries burst. Add 1 tablespoon butter and stir the sauce until the butter melts. Serve over the French Toast, which has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.
NOTE: I generally use Monk’s Bread – and use more slices because they are sandwich size ( enough to make top and bottom layers). I sometimes cut the recipe down to serve 4, using an 8 X 8” size pan, and a little more than 1/2 of each of the ingredients
– serves 6 – 8

Chech back often for more recipes from Sunrise Landing!