Blueberry Cream Cheese Bread Pudding/Baked French Toast

This Father’s Day dessert serves a crowd of ten and bakes well for breakfast, brunch, or as bread pudding for dessert, too. After all, bread pudding is just baked French toast, albeit served after dinner drenched in sweet sauces and served with ice cream on the side. “So feel free to drench it in dark chocolate sauce, add some cinnamon roll ice cream, and call it dessert,” suggests Julia at Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body.

Now, I have to admit that the idea of bread as pudding was quite foreign to me growing up, but after making it several times, I find that I really like it. Fresh out of the oven, the eggs give the bread a nice puffy texture, but with the cream cheese and blueberries in this pudding, you are in for a real treat that needs no syrups or sauces to finish it off.

And suggests Julia,

“Besides its deliciousness, another thing I love about this baked french toast is you can make/bake it, and then wrap up single servings, freeze them, then just warm them up right before you want to eat them  …reheating in the microwave won’t give …it has the [same texture that it had the] first time it’s baked.  The thing is, young kids could pretty much careless, so you’re in the clear.  But, if you’re reheating this for adults, you might want to reheat it in the oven (400 for about 40 minutes).  Another thing, you can make a batch on Monday and just reheat pieces all week (without freezing, just from the refrigerator).”

Published initially as MAPLE CREAM CHEESE FRENCH TOAST at Fresh Off the Grid, this recipe was intended for a cast iron Dutch oven over a campfire. I realize that most of you are NOT camping for Father’s Day, so here it is adapted for your home oven, which works just as well as it does for camping. And it is the perfect, easy Father’s Day Brunch recipe for a big group:

BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE BREAD PUDDING (or Baked French Toast)

Serving Size:

10–12

Time:

60 min

Difficulty:

Easy

Ingredients

• 1 dozen eggs
• 1½ cups/355g evaporated milk
• 1 cup/340g maple syrup plus extra for topping
• 2 (8-ounce)/450g packages cream cheese, cubed
• 1 loaf of Abigail’s Oven sourdough bread, coarsely cubed (I used half a loaf of our Country and Cinnamon Swirl loaves with slices cut into hearts and scraps cubed for the base).
• 14-inch camp Dutch oven OR casserole baking dish
• Large mixing bowl

Directions

1. Blend the eggs, milk, and 1 cup of maple syrup in a large mixing bowl (I used my new Birthday/Father’s Day Blendtec Blender).
2. Arrange half the bread cubes on the bottom of the Dutch oven or casserole baking dish.
3. Evenly pour about one-third of the egg mixture over the bread cubes.
4. Layer cubes of cream cheese and blueberries over the bread.
5. Place the remaining half of the bread cubes over the cheese.
6. Pour the remaining egg mixture over the bread and place in your fridge, covered overnight.
7. In the morning or before dinner, preheat the oven to 350°F, then bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown on top and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. (It may be served with additional Maple Syrup, warm caramel sauce, whipped cream, etc.)