I saw this fabulous casserole on Half Baked Harvest one day and I fell in love with the photograph and recipe. I mean . . . . croissants, jam, cream cheese, eggs, fruit . . . what's not to love about that! I thought to myself, I'm IN!
However it was far too large of a casserole for me to justifiably bake for Todd and myself, and it will be about a month and a half before my kids come over. I didn't want to wait that long. I wanted to taste this gorgeousness NOW!
I also happened to have 3 large stale croissants here in the house leftover from when Todd bought some at Costco the other day. We had eaten as many of them that we could and I couldn't bear throwing any of them away. This breakfast casserole was really calling my name.
Her recipe serves 8 people. We are only 2. What to do, what to do . . . . I reduced it by half and then by half again and crossed my fingers.
Just look at that. It turned out perfectly! Amazingly scrumptiously perfect!
You get flaky butter bits of croissant . . . along with souflee-like bread pudding bits . . . interspersed with pockets of wild blueberry jam and nuggets of rich cream cheese . . . oh my goodness . . .
I love wild blueberry jam . . . and fresh blueberries of course. I just love blueberries and they work wonderfully in this. Raspberry jam and fresh raspberries would also work, and here's a thought . . . peach or apricot jam with raspberries, kind of like a peach melba . . .
She served hers with whipped cream. I just happened to have a lovely tub of extra thick Jersey cream in the refrigerator. You can't beat that. Its perfection.
And so I dolloped a bit of that on each serving, about a tablespoon full . . . scrummy yummy . . .
Real Maple syrup . . . fresh blueberries . . .
I am definitely going to make this for my children when they come over. They are going to love LOVE it!
I just had a thought that would also be very good . . . Orange Marmalade along with black berries . . .
Oh my the possibilities are truly endless. One thing is certain, I am making this again, and you deffo need to make this!
Berry & Cream Croissant French Toast for Two
Yield: 2 generous serving
A delicious breakfast casserole. You must wait at least 30 minutes to bake it, or up to overnight. Great to throw together the night before, banging it into the oven on the morning.
ingredients:
For the Casserole:
- 2 large free range eggs, beaten lightly
- 120ml whole milk (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 TBS Maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 3 large stale croissants, torn or sliced into chunks (you want about 3 cups)
- 3 ounces wild blueberry jam (1/3 cup)
- 3 ounces cream cheese, cut into small cubes
- 2 TBS cold butter, sliced
- powdere sugar to dust at the end
To Serve:
- Whipped cream
- maple syrup
- fresh berries
instructions:
How to cook Berry & Cream Croissant French Toast for Two
- Beat th ggs, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and salt together in a bowl. Add the croissant chunks and gently toss together.
- Butter a 6 by 8 inch baking dish. Layer half of the soaked croissants in the dish. Dot with the jam and the cream cheese. Top with the remaining croissants and pour over any egg/milk mixture that remains in the bowl. Let stand for at least half a hour or in the refrigerator overnight, covered.
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 6. Dot the top with the slices of cold butter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the FrenchToast is golden brown and crisp. If you think it is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
- Serve warm with some whipped cream, fresh berres and maple syrup for pouring.
I am enjoying reducing recipes and trying them out in smaller sizes. Its a bit of a challenge, but a most delicious one. One thing I have learned is that its well worth it. Don't ever let the size of a dish daunt you or make you think that you can't possibly remake it as a smaller recipe. What are some recipes/dishes that you would like to see me try to make smaller? I am up for the challenge!
