Raspberry Cream Cheese French Toast

 

I’ve started to treasure days off from work as if they were sparkly gems and shiny precious metals. Much of the time I get the usual number of them in a week otherwise occupied by a full-time job, but sometimes I don’t and sometimes there are a lot of extra hours in between them. Sometimes, I think I’m going to get them, but then I don’t, but then it turns out that I do….

My kingdom for a schedule! Anyway, nothing says, “I have the day off,” like a leisurely breakfast, whether it is enjoyed in a restaurant or in my own kitchen. Last weekend, I had time for two of them, these Fluffy Orange Pancakes, and a baked French toast, based on this marmalade-laced one from two years ago. I had added cream cheese to the middle layer of that dish, and wanted to do that again, but pairing it with raspberry preserves instead.

I scaled this recipe down from a 13 x 9” pan to an 8” square one, adjusting the volume of the custard mixture and the preserves. I kept the quantity of cream cheese, however, because I wanted to really let my love of raspberries and cream cheese have wings. It was a wise choice, because it really was delicious.

This is not a particularly moist baked French toast in the end, which, to me, means it isn’t mushy. The top layer of bread gets a little crisp, which I like, and the softer middle layer is plumped up with the flavors of raspberry and cream cheese. The cream cheese didn’t melt much, mostly keeping itself in little pockets. This slices fairly neatly into squares for serving, and holds its shape on a plate.

 

I think you could also serve this in more of a bread pudding style by cubing the bread, tossing the raspberry preserves and cream cheese with it, pouring the custard over all of it, and scooping it in big spoonfuls to serve. You could also use whatever jam or preserves you like (strawberry or blueberry would be great), or even omit the cream cheese.

I also would have liked to add some fresh raspberries, or at least garnished each serving with them, but there was a rather nasty blizzard happening, and fresh raspberries just weren’t a priority.  Being warmed from within by a hearty, delicious, hot breakfast that I had put most of the effort into the night before was my priority. My sparkly, shiny, much-treasured priority.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Baked French Toast

This dish needs to stand 6-8 hours in the refrigerator before baking, so to serve it for breakfast, you need to assemble it the night before.  I did not find that it needed anything extra, but you could serve it with warm maple syrup, a fruity syrup or compote, or more raspberry preserves, thinned with a little water and heated slightly. Of course, garnish with fresh berries if you have them.

About 12 ounces French or country bread

6 ounces raspberry preserves or jam

4 ounces cream cheese, cut into small cubes

4 large eggs

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 ½ cups milk

½ teaspoon almond extract

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray, or grease it with butter. Set aside.

2. Cut the bread into 1-1 ½ inch slices. Place one layer of bread in the bottom of the prepared dish.

3. Spread the raspberry preserves on top of the bread. Distribute the cream cheese cubes over the preserves. Top with the remaining bread slices, getting as much bread into the dish as you can.

4. In a medium-size bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, milk, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Beat together until smooth. Pour over the bread in the baking dish.

5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6-8 hours or overnight. (This can be done up to a day ahead.)

6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until the custard has set and the bread on top is beginning to brown. (Cover with foil if the bread is browning before the custard is baked.) Let stand about 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Marmalade Cream Cheese Baked French Toast, French Toast Casserole with Cardamom and Pears

One year ago: Chocolate Cake with Porter and Ganache Topping

Marmalade Baked French Toast

There are so many things to like about this baked breakfast/brunch recipe. The most important one is, of course, it’s fabulous deliciousness! But when it comes to logistics and construction, it has lots more to offer as well.

To sum up this dish, it’s two layers of buttered French bread slices with orange marmalade and cream cheese sandwiched between them. A lightly sweetened custard gets poured over all of it, the whole thing sits in the refrigerator overnight, and then it gets baked.

I love the make-ahead nature of this as well as the ease with which it goes together. You can have it waiting in the refrigerator when you wake up, not really all that well-rested, on a weekend morning, get it into the oven and take a little nap while it bakes. (Is it just me?) The reward will be out of proportion to your small evening effort.

This bakes up firm, but moist. The flavor of the marmalade and that little bit of cream cheese (I took the liberty of stealing that idea from another recipe) stand out well within the mild flavors of bread and custard. It’s not overly sweet, since citrusy marmalade isn’t so sugary. If you want something sweeter, you could drizzle some syrup on your serving, but I found it not to be needed.

I’m sure you could use other jams or jellies in place of the marmalade. I’d like to try raspberry, myself. You could also go without the cream cheese, or add some nuts or fresh fruit. I’m going to keep this recipe close by, using it as a template for whatever flavors seem like they might be great. And, since I can put everything together ahead of time, I don’t have to worry about making those flavor decisions in the morning. Not my best time of day!

Marmalade Cream Cheese Baked French Toast

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

1 16-ounce loaf French bread, cut into ½-inch slices

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

12 ounces orange marmalade

4 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces

6 large eggs

1/3 cup sugar

2 ¾ cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half of the butter on one side of half of the bread slices. Arrange the buttered slices, butter side down, in the prepared baking dish. Overlap slightly as needed to fit.

2. Spread the marmalade evenly over the top of the bread. Distribute the cream cheese evenly over the marmalade.

3. Spread the remaining butter on one side of each of the remaining slices of bread. Arrange these bread slices over the marmalade and cream cheese layer with the buttered side up.

4. In a medium-size bowl, beat the eggs and the sugar together. Beat in the milk, vanilla and nutmeg.

5. Pour the egg mixture over the bread. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours, or overnight.

6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F. Bake, uncovered, at 350 F for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the egg mixture is no longer liquid. Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Leftovers can be refrigerated. Microwave individual leftover servings.

Another recipe like this one: French Toast Casserole with Cardamom and Pears

One year ago: Chocolate Pie with Graham Cracker Crust and Marshmallow Topping

Pears and Cardamom

I’ve had a mini-obsession with the combination of pears and cardamom since trying a cardamom-pear scone at a local coffee shop something like a year ago. That generous dose of cardamom was fresher and spicier than any taste of the stuff I’d had before, and I knew I had to have more. Earlier this month, I made a sweet bread laced with cardamom, and I decided that would be a great foundation for a dish featuring the ubiquitous winter pear.

French toast was going to be the way to go and I wanted to add sautéed pears to it. I didn’t just want a sauce and I certainly didn’t want to perform the delicate operation of cutting into a thick slice of bread in order to stuff it with something gooey, especially first thing in the morning. Instead, I made a sort of French toast casserole, which, to the discerning eye, will look suspiciously like bread pudding. I assembled the whole thing the night before I wanted to bake it, then could just bake it in the morning, which is hardly a delicate operation at all, even for a non-morning person like me.

I sautéed the pears in brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and a little lemon juice, then layered them between thick slices of my cardamom bread. You certainly use other breads to make this, but I think a soft, rich bread, such as Challah or Brioche, would be nice. For the custard, I consulted several recipes and even Ratio by Michael Ruhlman, and think I came up with a decent proportion of eggs to milk. The resulting dish is quite moist and not too eggy, a little sweet, but not cloying. And the cardamom-pear combo? Still a dynamic duo if you ask me. And this milieu is another good place for them to shine together. If I make this again, I might try adding even more pears.

I made a small-ish batch of this dish, since I wasn’t going to be feeding a crowd, but I think it could be doubled and baked in a larger baking dish (say 13” x 9”). It’s a great way to make a weekend brunch ahead of time, and the leftovers are pretty good reheated in the microwave a day or two later. If you don’t want to do pears, apples would probably work as well, but would probably need to be sautéed longer to make them tender. Other fruits might also be good when they are in season. If you hate cardamom, leave it out and double the cinnamon, or try a little nutmeg. If you hate bread, you’re going to have to eat something else for breakfast.

French Toast Casserole with Cardamom and Pears
This dish is not overly-sweet, so you can serve it with maple syrup if desired (I did).

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
3 medium-sized pears, peeled and sliced about ¼ -inch thick
4 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
½ teaspoon cinnamon, divided
½ teaspoon cardamom, preferably freshly ground, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice

10-12 ounces rich, slightly sweet, day-old (or slightly older) bread, such as Finnish Cardamom Bread, challah or brioche, thickly sliced (or enough for two layers of your baking dish)

3 large eggs
1 ½ cups milk (I used low-fat. Full-fat is probably even better.)
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Melt the 1 tablespoon butter in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Add the pears and two tablespoons brown sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pears are tender and the liquid around them is thickened. Add ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon cardamom, and lemon juice. Cook and gently stir until the liquid is thick. Remove from the heat and cool.

2. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish (or coat it with cooking spray). Place half of the bread on the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping slightly if necessary. Arrange half of the pear mixture on top of the bread. Layer the remaining bread on top of the pears.

3. In a medium-size bowl, beat together the eggs and milk with a whisk. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, remaining ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, remaining ¼ teaspoon cardamom and vanilla and beat until combined.

4. Pour the egg mixture over the mixture in the pan. Press down slightly on the top layer of bread. Arrange the remaining pear mixture on top of the bread. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours).

5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake, covered, at 350 F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes more, or until the custard is set. It should be moist but no longer runny. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

Makes 4-6 servings. Refrigerate leftovers for a day or two and reheat in the microwave.

Other recipes like this one: Apple Cinnamon Pancakes, Triple Ginger Peach Shortcakes, Apple Turnovers with Dried Fruit

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