Blueberry Cheesecake French Toast Casserole
With it being Mother’s day this weekend, I wanted to share this recipe for my blueberry cheesecake French toast casserole a bit earlier than my usual Sunday evening time frame. If anyone is planning a special breakfast or brunch for mom this weekend, this dish would make an excellent addition to the menu, if I do say so myself. Sweet bread soaked in a rich, luscious cheesecake custard, studded with bright blueberries and baked to a golden crusted, creamy interior perfection – and the most difficult part of the entire process is waiting for it to come out of the oven while your kitchen is flooded with delectable aromas.
It’s funny, my mother doesn’t like French toast (as far as she is concerned, eggs shouldn’t be sweet), but I still associate French toast with Sunday morning brunch growing up. It wasn’t that mom always made French toast for us on Sundays (there were plenty of Sunday morning pancakes, waffles, Dutch babies, omelettes, frittatas, etc.), but that Sundays were the only days she would make French toast for us and I loved French toast.
It wasn’t until I was all grown up that I realized that French toast is essentially individual, bread slice portions of bread pudding (imagine my disappointment, since I had always said I didn’t like bread pudding 😀). More specifically, it was when I watched Alton Brown’s episode of Good Eats devoted to French toast. So, if French toast is basically bread pudding by the slice, then bread pudding is basically a French toast that comes together quickly, can be – perhaps even should be – prepared the night before and gives you an hour plus of free, hands-off time while it bakes. There is no dipping individual slices, no standing over a hot griddle, no trying to keep early slices warm while cooking off the remainder of the slices. And, it is easy to add flavors with fruits (fresh or dried), nuts or seed or by varying the type and flavor of bread that you use.
You can use whatever bread you like for this recipe, just make sure that it is dry/stale so that it can absorb all that creamy custard goodness. I chose to use two breads that had blueberries already incorporated to really make sure that you got blueberry flavor in every bite, but a buttery brioche, an eggy challah or a sweet Hawaiian bread would also work well. One of the breads I chose had lemon in it which provided a hint of citrusy brightness, if your not using a lemony bread, you can add a bit of lemon zest to the mix to achieve the same result. You can also swap out the blueberries for your favorite berry or opt for diced apples, pears, peaches, etc.
Take the time to make this, share it with someone you love and have a very happy Mother’s Day!
Blueberry Cheesecake French Toast Casserole
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- blender
- casserole dish 9" x 13"
Ingredients
- 2 lbs bread I used a combination of blueberry bagels and lemon blueberry swirl bread
- 10 eggs large, room temperature
- 2 cups milk room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cups sour cream room temperature
- ¼ cups heavy cream room temperature
- ¼ cups sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 pint blueberries fresh, small berries
Instructions
- Cube the bread and place in a large mixing bowl2 lbs bread
- Add the eggs, milk, cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and salt in a large blender and mix until fully combined and smooth.10 eggs, 2 cups milk, 8 oz cream cheese, 1/4 cups sour cream, 1/4 cups heavy cream, 1/4 cups sugar, 1 tbsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp salt
- Pour the custard mixture over the cubed bread and mix until all of the bread is covered with the custard. Cover the bowl and put in the refrigerator over night to allow the bread to fully absorb the custard.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a large casserole dish.
- Remove the bread and custard mixture from the refrigerator, fold the fresh blueberries gently into the mixture. Transfer the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.1 pint blueberries
- Place in the oven and back for about 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes or until it is golden brown on the top and nicely set (190°F-200°F internal temperature). Let the French toast bake rest for about 10-15 minutes before serving. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar to serve.
Nutrition
More recipes you might enjoy:
About The Author
