Baked Blueberry French Toast

Here goes one more blueberry recipe on the blog which proves that I have yet to get over my craze for the plump and juicy purple berry. This classic breakfast item has been revamped by Pam from For the Love of Cooking to include a pint of fresh blueberries and though I have never tried French toast on its own [shame!] I could not resist the berry version. Especially not when I had just bought tons of fresh berries on a Buy1 Get1 Free deal! Personally, I found the leftovers of this baked fresh toast better tasting than it was right out of the oven but then, I might have been biased as my second serving had the benefit of being topped with vanilla ice cream, maple syrup and toasted almonds.

BAKED BLUEBERRY FRENCH TOAST

Ingredients:

For the Casserole

1 loaf brioche bread, cubed

1 cup fresh blueberries, divided

8 large eggs, room temperature

2 1/4 cups whole milk

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Streusel Topping

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoon butter, cold

Method:

• Grease a 9″ x 13″ pan with cooking spray. Cut the brioche bread into cubes, about 1 inch in size.

• Spread half of the cubes into the prepared baking pan and top evenly with half of the blueberries.

• Add the remaining bread cubes followed by remaining blueberries. Set aside and prepare sauce.

• Whisk the eggs, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla together in a bowl until well combined.

• Pour evenly over bread. Cover the pan very tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.

• Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350oF. Remove pan from the refrigerator.

• Prepare topping by whisking the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.

• Cut in the cubed butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over bread.

• Bake it for 50 to 60 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream.

• Cover the cooled leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Makes 8-10 servings.

Baked Blueberry French Toast

Blueberry Boy Bait

Like any recipe with a great name, this Blueberry Boy Bait taken from Smitten Kitchen, also has a great story. In 1954, a 15-year-old girl stole the show (but only won second prize) in the junior division of an early Pillbury Bake-Off with a variation of this recipe, named, she said, after the effect it had on boys. Cook’s Country magazine dusted this recipe off from the Pillsbury Bake-Off Dessert Cookbook and made a few tweaks to bring it more deliciously into the modern age. Butter was swapped for shortening, the quantity of blueberries was doubled and some plain sugar was replaced with brown sugar. The result? Let’s just say you don’t need to be a boy to be lured in.

BLUEBERRY BOY BAIT

Ingredients:

For the Blueberry Cake

2 cups (250g) plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon table salt or kosher salt

16 tablespoons unsalted butter (225g), softened

3/4 cup (145g) packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup (235 ml) whole milk

1/2 cup (85g) blueberries, fresh

For the Topping

1/2 cup (about 85g) blueberries, fresh

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 13″x 9″ baking pan.

• Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed.

• Beat till fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated, scraping down bowl.

• Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of milk.

• Beat in half of remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally add the remaining flour mixture.

• Toss the blueberries with remaining one teaspoon flour. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries.

• Spread batter into prepared pan. Scatter blueberries over top of batter. Stir sugar and cinnamon together.

• Sprinkle over batter. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, for 45 to 50 minutes.

• Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and place on serving platter. Serve it warm or at room temperature.

• Cake can be stored in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. Makes 12 generous servings.

Blueberry Boy Bait

Strawberry Crumb Muffins

It must have been weeks since I last spotted a decent punnet of fresh strawberries in the supermarkets, the price being often blown out of proportion for a mere 250g of these imported berries. I have yet to come across a local variety that tastes sweet enough to be eaten on its own, so usually, they find their way into my baked goodies where their relative tartness can be overlooked. Though I initially bought these berries to be enjoyed with a tub of mascarpone cream, I found myself being drawn to these fine-looking Strawberry Crumb Muffins from Baker by Nature. Do not go by the long ingredients list – other than the strawberries, you will probably have everything you need in your kitchen for the delicious muffin batter, the buttery crumb topping, and the sticky glaze.

STRAWBERRY CRUMB MUFFINS

Ingredients:

For the Crumb Topping

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled

For the Strawberry Muffins

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon kitchen salt

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups white granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 2 large egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk, room temperature

1 1/2 cups strawberries, chopped

For the Vanilla Glaze

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Method:

• For the crumb topping, combine the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter in a large bowl.
• Using forks or a pastry cutter, combine until mixture is very crumbly and resembles a coarse meal.

• The crumbs should be about pea-sized. Place crumb mixture in the fridge or freezer until needed.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter and line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.

• In a large bowl, sift together 3 cups all purpose flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
• Using an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat on medium speed till light and fluffy.

• Beat for about 3 minutes. Add egg, egg yolks, and vanilla and continue beating till well combined.
• Reduce the speed to low; alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour.

• Be sure not to over mix. Place strawberries and remaining flour in a bowl; toss to coat completely.
• Add the strawberries and any excess flour into the batter; use a spatula to gently fold the berries.

• Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Top each cup with 2 tablespoons of crumb topping.
• Bake for 20-22 minutes until tops are golden brown and a toothpick in middle comes out clean.

• For the vanilla glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and cream and whisk till it is smooth.
• Add more cream to reach desired consistency and drizzle over the muffins right before serving.

Strawberry Crumb Muffins