Baked French Toast Casserole With Pecan and Wild Blueberry Topping

Courtesy of: Buttonwood Inn on Mt. Surprise, a member of Select Registry: Distinguished Inns of North America

Ingredients:
1 16-oz. loaf of supermarket French or Italian bread, sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened to coat baking dish
8 large eggs
2-1/2 cups whole milk
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
-tsp. ground cinnamon
-tsp. ground nutmeg

Topping:
4 Tbsp. of unsalted butter, softened
-cup packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 cup pecans, chopped coarse
1 cup of wild Maine or other fresh blueberries

Preparation:
Spread bread cubes in a baking pan and bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until dry and hard. Take out of oven to cool. Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking dish and pack the dried bread cubes into it. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until combined. Then whisk in the milk, cream, granulated sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes. Cover the entire mixture with plastic wrap and push the bread down into the egg mixture until soft and well coated. Refrigerate overnight.

For the topping, stir the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup together until smooth and then stir in pecans. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To bake, unwrap the casserole and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the blueberries on top, then the pecan topping mixture and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Serve immediately with warmed maple syrup. Enjoy!