Looking for a great breakfast idea to serve mom this Mother’s Day? Then you may want to give this recipe for Cherry French Toast Casserole a try, it is perfect to serve mom breakfast in bed or to serve as a brunch dish. And best of all it can be prepared the night before and baked in the morning!
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 1 Hour & 15 minutes
Serves: 12
Ingredients:
- 12 slices of day old bread (I pick up my bread at the local bread outlet store)
- 16 oz. of cream cheese (two 8 oz. packages)
- 1 cup of thawed frozen sweet cherries
- 12 eggs
- 2 cups of milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)
Directions:
- Cut bread into cubes. Place half of the bread cubes in a buttered 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish.
- Cut the cream cheese into 1 inch cubes and layer on top of bread cubes in dish.
- Top with thawed cherries (and juice) and then remaining bread cubes.
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract till completely combined.
- Pour egg mixture over bread mixture.
- Press bread down into the liquid to make sure everything gets absorbed.
- Cover pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to baking. Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Bake casserole, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle top with granulated sugar and bake until top is golden brown and mixture is set in the center, about 25-30 minutes.
Serve with syrup if desired along with bacon or sausage, coffee or juice and you have a lovely breakfast dish perfect for showing mom how much you love her!
You can substitute other fruits for the cherries as well as use fresh instead of frozen fruit. I have made this recipie with blueberries (add a little lemon zest – delish!) as well as fresh raspberries. I suppose you could also use strawberries however I dislike cooked strawberries so have not tried that.
