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This luscious baked French Toast is a perfect weekend breakfast. Farm fresh sweet cherries are topped with toasted cubed artisan bread soaked in eggs and half and half, and then baked to create an almost bread pudding like French Toast.
You can use any good, dense, chewy bread in this recipe. I used Volker’s Cranberry Orange bread. A fabulous bread with a great chewy texture and loaded with tart, sweet flavors. You can buy Volkers amazing bread at Farmer’s Markets in the Salt Lake area.
This summer I participated in the Utah’s Own Recipe Roundup. My Baked Cherry French Toast recipe was the winner of round two. So on Friday I got to compete with the other seven weekly winners at the Utah State Fair.
This was my first time competing in the Utah’s Own contest and it was a fun opportunity. I loved learning more about and helping raise awareness of the great Utah’s Own products. The winner of this year’s Recipe Roundup was Carmell Childs with an elegant Truffle Crepe Cake.
We were given two tickets so we could bring someone along to help. I asked fellow food blogger and my sweet friend, Becky, Vintage Mixer, to come help me set up and be my “stylist” for the competition. She has an amazing sense of style and I don’t know what I would have done without her help and support. Thanks Becky!
Also, a big thank you to Utah’s Own for hosting such a fun event. I’ve already started thinking of fun recipes for next year’s competition.
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Baked Cherry French Toast
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Volkers Bakery Orange Cranberry Bread cubed*
- 6 Oakdell eggs
- 1 ½ cups Meadow Gold half and half
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dutch Mill imitation vanilla
- Redmond Real Salt fine salt
- ½ cup Xagave agave nectar*
- 1 tablespoon Cornaby’s Thick Gel Food Starch corn starch**
- Zest of 1 orange
- 4 cups McMullin Orchards cherries pitted and halved*
- ¼ cup Meadow Gold butter melted
- Kodiak Mountain Berry Syrup for serving
Instructions
- Spread bread evenly in a jelly roll pan and toast for 20 minutes at 350°. Cool to room temperature.
- In a medium bowl beat together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Pour egg mixture over cooled toasted bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Combine agave, cornstarch, orange zest and a pinch of salt. Fold in cherries. Pour into a greased 13×9 baking pan.
- Place the chilled bread mixture on top of the fruit mixture. Drizzle the melted butter over the bread.
- Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until golden brown and sauce has thickened. Cover with foil if the top is getting too brown.
Meghan
Sounds like a great event! That bread sounds amazing on its own, so I can only imagine how good it was in french toast!! Love the addition of cherries!
Marla
Now this is the ultimate french toast & the competition sounds like fun too.
Joy
Great recipe.
Faith
That sounds like it was such a fun event, Barbara! Your french toast looks amazing!
rebecca
oh wow congrats Barbara your a star and love the picture of you proud of you hugs
Winnie
How cool that you were in this competition! Looks like a great recipe 😉
Peggy
Looks like a winner to me! So lucky of you to be part of the competition =)
JG
Congrats! That must have been a fun experience. Cherry French Toast with one of my faves – cranberries. Yum!
Gera@Sweets Foods Blog
Here we have French toasts on breakfast, are routines but…. wait this bread reloaded full of berries isn’t common!
OMG I wish I’ve one for breakfast tomorrow morning 🙂
Cheers,
Gera
Rocky Mountain Woman
Congratulations!
I love Volker’s Cranberry bread, happy to have an excuse to go buy some…
Juliana
Barbara, what a fun event…and your cherry French toast look fabulous…perfect for a weekend brunch!
Hope you are having a fantastic week and thank you for this recipe 🙂
teresa
oh this is just gorgeous! i might even get up early for a breakfast like this!
Deeba Rajpal (@vindee)
YIPPEEE…so glad you won GF.Yay Yay Yay … what an amazing recipe and what fun that Becky was there with you! Loved looking at all the pics. Good luck for next year! Yay you!!
Cheah
Congrats! Your baked French toast looks so appetising. Must be lovely with those cherries.
Cathy at Wives with Knives
Wow, congrats, Barbara, for making it to the finals. That must have been a great experience. Your french toast looks like a wonderful Sunday breakfast. Excellent photo, BTW.
Kitchen Belleicious
Congrats my friend! How amazing and fun was that! Wow, I wish I could have been at that contest. talk about some good food. Your french toast looks amazing- no doubt it should have been the winner. When in doubt in my house I make french toast. It is just so delicious and easy!
Claire @ Claire K Creations
I’ve never considered baking French toast. It must be so delicious cooking it after it’s been soaking over night. That bread looks fabulous too.
Lauren from Lauren's Latest
I wish I could get a loaf of that bread in Oregon! It looks so delicious on its own!
Angie's Recipes
Indeed a great breakfast choice!
Deb
What fabulous french toast! Adore the fresh cherries and berry syrup; what an extraordinary use of local ingredients. I envy your placing in the state finals. I recently entered a contest focused on local ingredients and did not place! LOL