Cinnamon Raisin Raspberry French Toast Bake

French toast is a staple in our house.  It's a popular breakfast choice for my boys, along with pancakes and waffles.  I was wanting to change up our morning flavours, and a loaf of Sun-Maid Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread was my inspiration.

I have seen overnight French Toast baked breakfasts before, but have never made them.  I always attributed an overnight breakfast to a weekend thing, but I thought, why wouldn't I do this on a weekday morning?  Wouldn't this make our morning routine just a bit easier?  No standing over the stove cooking while trying to round up the kids for school and daycare.  So...I decided to give one a whirl and see what happened.  I also happened to have some beautiful raspberries and delicious cream cheese in the fridge, and in my mind, I thought these should all go together.

Here is what I did:

Cinnamon Raisin Raspberry French Toast Bake

8 slices of Sun-Maid Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread

5 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 brick cream cheese, softened
cinnamon

Butter the bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan (I used glass).

Break up the bread into bite sized pieces.  Place in the prepared baking pan.  Add the raspberries into the bread dish, mixing into the bread.

In a bowl, beat the eggs, add in the milk and mix well.  Pour the egg mixture over the bread.  Press down slightly.

Cut the cream cheese into small bits, sprinkle over top of the bread mixture.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven to 350F.  Uncover the baking pan, place in oven, and hake for 30-35 minutes. 

Remove from oven, serve with maple syrup, and enjoy!

VERDICT:
This dish was popular with my boys (and me too!).  It made for a nice change of pace to our breakfasts, and added in some extra fruit (the raisins and he raspberries).  The cream cheese was a nice addition to the mix!