This is a perfect recipe to use as a base and to change up as different fruits and flavors come into season. In the Spring, it's Lemon/cardamom/blueberry, in the Summer raspberry/cream cheese, Fall brings pumpkin, and Winter incorporates hot chocolate.
Yield - 4
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or cooking spray
6 slices Italian bread, sliced into 1/2 inch cubes
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cups raspberries
4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Powdered sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease four 8 ounce ramekins with butter or cooking spray and place on baking sheet
Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla and maple syrup until well combined
Stir in cubed bread until soaked with egg mixture
Fill each ramekin halfway with bread/egg mixture
Add a layer of raspberries and cream cheese, dividing evenly between each dish
Cover with remaining bread
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown
Dust with powdered sugar
It's pretty impossible to mess it up once you have the base down. This can also be made in a 9x13 baking dish and can even be prepped the night before making it perfect for a holiday breakfast. When it's prepped the night before, it ends up being very similar to a bread pudding!