Author Notes: This recipe is a combination of a beloved bread pudding holiday treat and a baked French toast recipe. —cookwithsusan
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
-
1/2
cup Orange liqueur
-
1/4
cup water
-
1/2
cup diced dates
-
1/2
cup diced apricots
-
Butter for baking dish
-
4
ounces Neufchatel cheese, softened to room temperature
-
1
pound Egg bread loaf, 16 ounces, sliced to 8 pieces, with a 2-inch pocket cut in each piece
-
1-1/2
cups half-and-half cream
-
2
cups whole milk
-
6
large eggs
-
1/4
cup Sugar
-
1
tablespoon vanilla extract
-
1/2
teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
-
1/2
teaspoon cinnamon
-
1
teaspoon Orange zest
-
3/4
cup Maple syrup
-
2
tablespoons Butter, melted
Directions
- Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
- Combine liqueur, water, dates, and apricots in bowl and allow fruit to absorb liquid for 1 hour; and then drain fruit and reserve liquid.
- Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Place dish on large cookie sheet.
- Mix fruit with Neufchatel cheese and spread in pocket of each piece of bread. Arrange slices in bottom of baking dish, overlapping if necessary.
- Whisk cream, milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and orange zest in a large bowl to make a custard mixture.
- Pour custard over bread pieces, pressing down gently with spatula. Let stand 25 minutes before baking.
- Bake 50 minutes to an hour until lightly browned and firm to touch. Cool while making syrup, and then serve with warm syrup.
- Syrup: Combine reserved liqueur-flavored liquid, maple syrup, and butter in a medium saucepan and cook until volume is reduced by one-third.