Make-Ahead Baked French Toast + Berries
Servings: 4
Beautiful and bursting with berries, this make-ahead recipe and its accompanying berry compotes is perfect for brunch or any special occasion breakfast.
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Ingredients
For the French Toast
- 1 12 oz baguette or french-style bread (one slender baguette)
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup whipping cream OR ⅓ cup milk or non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- ⅓ cup chopped almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts
- 2 tablespoons Demerara sugar or coarse baking sugar
- 1½ cups fresh or frozen blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries, or a mix of varieties Cut strawberries into quarters
For the Berry Compote
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries, or a mix of varieties
- ⅓ to ½ cups sugar depending on the ripeness of your berries
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 1 tablepsoon corn starch or rice flour
Instructions
For the Berry French Toast
- Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter or spray a 7" x 11" baking dish.
- Cut the bread into ¾" pieces. There is no need to trim the crusts unless the bottom crust is quite browned, in which case trim the dark part away before cubing the loaf. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, cream (or lesser amount of milk), vanilla, salt and th optional orange zest and/or cinnamon, if using, until the ingredients ar thoroughly combined and bubbly. Fold in the bread cubes turn over and over until th read is thoroughly soaked in the custard mixture. Set aside 15 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until all of the custard has been absorbed into the bread. If making ahead, cover tightly and place in the bread/custard mixture in the refrigerator until 30 minutes before serving.
- Just before baking gently stir the frozen or fresh berries into the bread mixture. If using frozen berries, do not thaw in advance. Tip the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with nuts and sugar. Place in the oven and bake until golden brown on top, 18-22 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes before cutting into squares.
For the Berry Compote
- While the French toast is in the oven, combine the berries and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over meduim heat until the berries start to soften and break down, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Stir the cornstarch or rice flour into the cold water, and slowly drizzle it into the cooked berries, stirring constantly. Allow to cook another 3-4 minutes until thickened. Keep warm while the French toast is ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, spoon some of the compote onto individual srving plates. Place a square of baked French toast on top, and serve.