Favorite Ingredients Friday for May 2

For Favorite Ingredients Friday today, the theme was “Greatest Hits.” Since I don’t need to come up with a new recipe, I can do this! I just had a hard time deciding which previously posted recipe to use.

I decided it has to be the Blueberry French Toast, because I recently had a dear friend email me from Panama asking for the recipe. I had served it to her and her husband one time when they were visiting here, but the recipe had somehow found its way out of her recipe box -- much to her dismay, since she wanted to make the French toast for company. In Panama, she uses pineapple instead of blueberries. We have found that it is also very delicious using raspberries instead of blueberries. I use the frozen ones. It just seems to me that a recipe so well loved and used, and so well-traveled, deserves the “Greatest Hits” label. So here it is:

BLUEBERRY FRENCH TOAST

12 slices day-old white bread, crusts removed, cut in 1” cubes
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, cut in 1/2” cubes
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
12 eggs
2 cups milk
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
SAUCE:
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (raspberries work well, too)
1 Tablespoon butter

Place half of the bread cubes in a greased 13X9X2" baking dish. Top
with all of the cream cheese cubes. Top with blueberries and remaining
bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and syrup; mix
well. Pour over bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or
overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover
with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes; then uncover and bake 25 - 30 minutes more or until golden brown and the center is set.
For sauce:
In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; add water. Bring to a boil
over medium heat; boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in
blueberries; reduce heat. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until berries
have burst. Stir in butter until melted. To serve, cut the French
toast into squares; serve with blueberry sauce ladled over each portion.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

This is a wonderful breakfast or brunch dish for company! If you want to make a smaller amount, you can cut the recipe in half and bake it in a 9-inch square dish.

To see what others have shared for Favorite Ingredients Friday, head on over to Overwhelmed with Joy and check out the links.