Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:

• 16 slices firm white bread

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

• 1 cup blueberries (I used cubed strawberries)

• 3 cups milk

• 3 eggs

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used cinnamon)

• 1/4 cup white sugar

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• • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
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• Directions:

1. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with butter. Cut 10 slices of the bread into 3/4 inch cubes. Spread cream cheese over one side of the remaining 6 slices of bread. Arrange the bread, cheese side up, in the baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the blueberries, then top with the bread cubes.
2. Whisk together the milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup of sugar in a bowl. Pour over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Mix together the nutmeg and 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle over bread mixture. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.
5. To make compote: Heat cornstarch, water and remaining 1 cup of sugar over medium heat and bring to a simmer, cooking until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and the remaining 1 cup of blueberries. Serve with the french toast.

If you use strawberries, make sure to sprinkle them on top when there is 5 mins left of cooking. The juices from the strawberries make the dish a little soggy. I also used the strawberry glaze (previous post) and pour that on top of the mixture as well (use as much to your liking).