Author Notes
This recipe is a combination of a beloved bread pudding holiday treat and a baked French toast recipe. —cookwithsusan
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Ingredients
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1/2 cup
Orange liqueur
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1/4 cup
water
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1/2 cup
diced dates
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1/2 cup
diced apricots
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Butter for baking dish
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4 ounces
Neufchatel cheese, softened to room temperature
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1 pound
Egg bread loaf, 16 ounces, sliced to 8 pieces, with a 2-inch pocket cut in each piece
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1-1/2 cups
half-and-half cream
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2 cups
whole milk
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6
large eggs
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1/4 cup
Sugar
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1 tablespoon
vanilla extract
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1/2 teaspoon
freshly grated nutmeg
-
1/2 teaspoon
cinnamon
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1 teaspoon
Orange zest
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3/4 cup
Maple syrup
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2 tablespoons
Butter, melted
Directions
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Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
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Combine liqueur, water, dates, and apricots in bowl and allow fruit to absorb liquid for 1 hour; and then drain fruit and reserve liquid.
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Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Place dish on large cookie sheet.
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Mix fruit with Neufchatel cheese and spread in pocket of each piece of bread. Arrange slices in bottom of baking dish, overlapping if necessary.
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Whisk cream, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and orange zest in a large bowl to make a custard mixture.
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Pour custard over bread pieces, pressing down gently with spatula. Let stand 25 minutes before baking.
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Bake 50 minutes to an hour until lightly browned and firm to touch. Cool while making syrup, and then serve with warm syrup.
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Syrup: Combine reserved liqueur-flavored liquid, maple syrup, and butter in a medium saucepan and cook until volume is reduced by one-third.
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