One of the most important rules when cooking for a party to is test all recipes ahead of time. Otherwise, it is inevitable that something will get messed up and you will find yourself rushing to start everything over again from scratch, with too little time, resulting in a stressful day. I think I have finally made that mistake enough times now to have learned my lesson.
Next weekend I will be hosting a brunch at my house following my niece and nephew’s christening. While I have delegated most tasks and dishes to others who have offered to help out, I still want to cook one of the dishes myself, so naturally I should try it ahead of time! I borrowed a delicious sounding recipe from a friend and decided to try it out this morning, to avoid any last minute problems next weekend. My sister and two friends happily volunteered to be the first tasters of my experiment. The end result: an excellent recipe that is amazingly simple, great for a party (most of it can be prepared the night before), and it allows for a lot of creative variations.
Baked French Toast with Blueberry Compote
Serves 10
- 1lb Challah Bread, cut into 1-inch slices
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cup half and half
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
The night before, butter a pan and lay the slices of bread along the bottom. Mix the eggs, milk, cream, and spices in a bowl. Pour mix over the bread, cover, refrigerate over night.
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
The next morning, pre-heat the oven to 350. In a saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup until bubbling. Pour over bread. Bake for 40 minutes. While the french toast is baking, make the blueberry compote to spoon on top of the french toast as you serve.
Blueberry Compote:
- 1 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup sugar
Heat blueberries, water and sugar until berries burst, and let cook until compote coats the spoon. Serve warm.
golden brown french toast!
blueberry compote
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Made this with my own spin on the custard recipe (honey, salt and Haitian vanilla). Really good!