Looking for a fun brunch with the girls or a fabulous treat for the family? Our raspberry cream cheese french toast bake recipe will leave everyone at the table stuffed with goodness. The french toast layered with a creamy custard and decorated with raspberries makes a stunning meal almost too pretty to eat.

Who is Chef Meg?

Canadian chef Meg Tucker hosts Cook with Meg. She carefully designs her cooking classes and camps to help bring out people’s inner chefs and build confidence in them and their cooking skills. Meg has an enthusiastic attitude and always makes a day with her in the kitchen great. Learn more about Meg and her latest recipes at cookwithmeg.com

Egg Farmers of New Brunswick Recipe Series

Egg Farmers of New Brunswick represents 15 egg farmers and families in New Brunswick. They do their part to deliver fresh, high-quality, locally produced eggs all over the province and build a sustainable egg industry for future generations.

At Excellence NB, we partnered with Egg Farmers of New Brunswick on a project called From Yolk to Table: Cook with Meg. Follow along each month as Chef Meg takes us through each step of a recipe while giving her tips to make sure yours turns out just like hers. These dishes are egg-focused, and we will give you ideas on which local ingredients you can buy to help support New Brunswick businesses.

Find more New Brunswick-made Ingredients

Equipment

• 9x13 baking dish
• Non-stick spray
• Cheese grater or box grater
• 2 Large mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Electric mixer
• 1 Small bol

Ingredients

French Toast

• 1 loaf of Mrs.Dunster's French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6 large eggs, Egg Farmers of New Brunswick
• 1 ½ cups Northumberland Dairy milk, whole milk or 2% works best
• 1 can evaporated milk
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract,Barbours
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon,Barbours
• 1 cup locally picked fresh raspberries

Cream Cheese Layer

• 1 brick/block of cream cheese, super soft (8 oz | 225g) cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, Barbours 

Streusel Topper

• ½ cup all-purpose flour, Speerville Flour Mill 
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed

Fun fact: Brown sugar is just white sugar with a little Molasses. If you don't have brown sugar, make some with Crosby's Molasses

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, Barbours
• ¼ cup Baxter Milk unsalted butter, grated
• Pinch of salt
• Optional: Wabanaki Maple syrup

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter or non-stick spray.

2. Grate your 1⁄4 butter on a cheese grater/box grater and pop back into the fridge to keep it super cold until we need it.

3. Cut your loaf of french bread into 1 inch cubes. Add the cubes to a sprayed/greased 9x13 baking dish.

4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk + evaporated milk, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon until well combined.

5. Slowly pour the eggy custard over the bread cubes until everything is evenly coated. Get in with clean hands and give everything a little toss, then let it hang out while we prep our berries.

6. Take half of the raspberries and add them to the bowl that held your egg custard and give them a quick mash with a fork. Option to add a little granulated sugar to the berries for extra flavour and a touch of sweetness. Set the rest of the whole berries aside.

7. Now let’s add the “jammy” berries to the bread/egg cubes, tucking little dollops in throughout the dish.

8. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, whip together the softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla extract and pinch of salt until smooth and creamy.

9. Drop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture over the bread cubes, and gently spread it out and tuck it in, so that every “piece” gets some of the creamy goodness.

10. Now we want to tuck in a few more berries, then we’ll make our streusel topper.

11. In a small bowl, combine the cold butter, flour, brown sugar, ground cinnamon and pinch of salt for the streusel topping. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. We always finish by really getting in with our fingers to really blend it all together. We’re looking for crumbly chunks that are not overly powdery.

12. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top of the French toast bake and tuck the rest of the berries in and around. Be sure to submerge them so they don’t darken during baking.

13. Bake in the preheated oven, uncovered for 45-50 minutes, or until the French toast is golden brown and set in the center.

14. Allow the Raspberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake to cool for a few minutes before serving.

15. Serve warm, optionally with a dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of maple syrup. ENJOY!