We’re back with our Sweet Potato Chronicles friends, Ceri and Laura, authors of the phenomenal cookbook, How to Feed a Family. To start 2014 off right, we’re getting Back to Breakfast! These healthy, delicious recipes will be loved by the whole family. Next up: Blueberry baked French toast!
We love breakfast. Breakfast any time of day and for any meal of the day. Like Ceri can consume eggs, I can wolf back pancakes at any hour (the 3am hour is especially nasty to witness) and a close second to pancakes is my other beloved breakfast–French toast. Since I’m pretty much known around these parts (by parts I mean the square footage of my kitchen) for baking a mean French toast, I took the liberty to put together another pan of my breakfast brilliance. It’s actually modelled after my favourite homemade blueberry pie–mixing the blueberry flavour compliments of allspice and lemon.
This is another one of those make-ahead deals so fix it the night before and breakfast is a cake walk. You’ll also have leftovers for the next morning if you can keep from eating three portions of this delicious bake. (Good luck having leftovers.) I used brioche bread for this particular version (great for entertaining or brunch) but, to make it more of a Wednesday morning deal, you can use a loaf of whatever bread you’ve got kicking around. Also, feel free to take down the amount of sugar you use, a 1/4 cup does just fine too, especially if you’re planning on showering this baby with maple syrup.~Laura Keogh
Ingredients:
- 1 loaf of brioche, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 tsp butter, for greasing the dish
Method:
Grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish. Slice your brioche into 1-inch cubes and place in the dish.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, lemon zest, allspice, cinnamon and salt. Pour this mixture over the bread. Gently stir the bread cubes and the egg mixture in the dish, making sure to press the bread down so it is coated in the egg. Then stir in the blueberries so they are scattered throughout the dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the dish from the refrigerator and allow it to rest for a few minutes. Preheat the oven to 350F.
Place the dish in the centre of the oven to bake to bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the bread is lightly browned and the eggy mixture is bubbling.
Slice and serve with warm maple syrup or agave nectar or even yogurt.
For more amazing recipes from Sweet Potato Chronicles, visit our special Cityline.ca section. And of course head on over to their site for tons of amazing recipes and ideas!
Photo credit Maya Visnyei