Baked French Toast with Fruit

By á-9182

Ingredients

• 1 small loaf day-old French bread (or about 1/2 of a large loaf)
• 5 eggs
• 3 TB. sugar
• 1 tsp. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
• 21/2 Cups whole milk
• 1/4 Cup flour
• 6 TB. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. PENZEYS CINNAMON
• 1/4 Cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 Cup blueberries
• 1 Cup strawberries, sliced

Preparation

Step 1

Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Cut the bread in 3/4-inch slices. Layer in the pan, fitting snugly. In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs, sugar and VANILLA. Stir in the milk. Pour over bread; turn bread slices over. Cover and refrigerate overnight*. In the morning, pre-heat the oven to 375°. In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and CINNAMON. Cut the butter in bits, add to the mix and rub together to make a crumb topping. Remove the pan from the fridge, carefully turn the bread pieces over and scatter mixed berries evenly over the bread. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes, until puffy and golden.

*Overnight soaking of the bread is what causes the dish to puff up and be very creamy when baked. If you don't have overnight, at least let it soak a few hours.