Cream Cheese French Toast w/Mixed Berry Sauce

It's the weekend and the thought of cooking bacon again makes you think about spraying Febreze® all afternoon to get the smell out of your house is way too much for a lazy Saturday.

If you're like me you'll want an alternative to the same ol' Breakfast Fare. The following dish is also an alternative to taking a fork to that leftover Marionberry pie from the night before. The pie will be delicious but when you prepare this recipe you can take pride in cooking a dish that is so sinful you won't believe you're eating breakfast.

Ingredients - French Toast
6 Pieces of Bread
6 Large Fresh Eggs
1 Cup Whole Milk
1 8 Oz Package Sour Cream
1 /2 Cup Fresh Berries (1 Cup of pre thawed Frozen Berries)
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/8 Teaspoon Butter Flavoring

Ingredients - Mixed Berry Sauce
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Fresh Berries (1 Cup of pre thawed Frozen Berries)
3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup (Pancake Syrup will due)
1 Tablespoon Corn Starch
2 Teaspoons Butter

Making the French Toast
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
 If your berries are frozen place both 1/2 cup measures into a bowl and defrost until not frozen but not warmed
Use cooking spray to lubricate an 8 inch by 8 inch baking dish
 Slice bread into bite sized pieces and place half of them into the bottom of your baking dish
Cut your sour cream into bite size pieces but set aside two rows of cream for a creamy topping later*
Arrange the sour cream on top of the bottom layer of bread
 Place a 1/2 cup of berries over top of the two layers
Arrange the remaining bread on top and set aside
In a bowl beat the eggs until well and pour in the butter flavoring, vanilla extract, maple syrup and milk into your bowl and stir until the mixture is one uniform color
Pour mixture over the bread, sour cream and berry layers. Make sure the bread soaks up all of the egg mixture
Cover your baking dish with aluminum foil, place into your preheated oven and set your time for 30 minutes.

Making your Berry Sauce
Place a small saucer on the middle of you stove top
 Place the water in a small sauce pan and slowly whisk in your corn starch
 Next whisk in the sugar
Turn your stove top to medium high
Whisk the mixture while boiling for two to three minute
After two minutes place a small dab of the mixture on the saucer and let cool
 When the dab is cool - about 30 seconds - taste the syrup and if it tastes like syrup its done. If you taste corn starch its not. Whisk it another minute.
 When the syrup is ready place the remaining 1/2 cup of berries into the sauce pan. Stir until the berries are warmed all the way through.

Finishing the French Toast
After your French Toast has been in the oven for 30 minutes remove the aluminum foil and cook for another 20 minutes.
Once the 20 minutes are over take the French Toast out of the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes
After the 10 minutes have elapsed slice the Toast into equal pieces

Adding the Berry Sauce
While you are waiting for the French Toast to cool down place the berry sauce on low

Whisk until the sauce is warm
Make sure your French Toast is cool and cut before this next step
Individually plate the desired portions of the French Toast and spoon a liberal amount of berry sauce over your delicious creation.

Optional Creamy Sauce
2 Ounces Sour Cream
1 Teaspoon Powdered Sugar

Soften your sour cream and stir in the powdered sugar and place a dollop of the cream on top of French Toast

Bonum Victus

Jeffrey Jay

* Note: This step is optional but well worth it