Blueberry Oatmeal Streusel French Toast with Warm Maple Rum Sauce

From The Art of Breakfast

By Dana Moos (Down East Books, 2011)

 

There are thousands of baked French toast recipes out there; with this one I’ve created bread pudding meets baked French toast meets egg custard. The crunchy pecan streusel topping is addictive. But then so is the rum sauce. I used to walk into the dining room at the inn with my squeeze bottle to offer more. Seriously! Fresh sliced peaches make a nice accompaniment to this dish.

Serves 8 to 10

 

1 cup chopped pecans

12 slices thick-cut bread

1 pint blueberries

8 large eggs

3 cups half & half

1/4  cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

1 cup thick rolled oats (not instant or quick cooking)

1/4  teaspoon ground nutmeg (less if fresh grated)

Maple-Rum Sauce*, for garnish

fresh peaches, sliced, for garnish

fresh blueberries, for garnish

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9×12 glass baking dish with butter or vegetable oil.

Toast the pecans in a single layer on rimmed baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes. Set aside.

Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and layer evenly in baking dish. Sprinkle blueberries on top.

Combine the eggs, half & half, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon in a blender for about 5 seconds. (If mixing in a stand mixer, beat for 2 minutes on medium-high.) Pour the mixture over bread.

For the topping, combine the butter, sugar, and corn syrup in a mixing bowl outfitted
with a paddle and mix on medium-high until creamy, about 2 minutes. Fold in the
toasted pecans, oats, and nutmeg and mix just to combine.

Dollop and carefully spread the topping onto the top of the bread. Cover with foil and
refrigerate overnight.

Bring the dish to room temperature before baking. When ready to bake, preheat the
oven to 375 degrees.

Place the dish over a rimmed baking sheet as this will drip when baking (oven fires are
not a good thing, learn from my mishaps!).

Bake covered in foil for about 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10
minutes. Reduce the oven to 275 degrees and let sit in oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing (very important to let it
rest before slicing or it will not hold its shape). Slice down the middle of the pan, then
into 4 or 5 slices across.

Drizzle the warm Maple-Rum Sauce* over the top of each slice and serve with
fresh sliced peaches and blueberries.

 

Maple-Rum Sauce

A versatile sauce for pancakes, waffles, French toast, poached pears, baked apples, or fresh blueberries. I use this sauce on my Blueberry Oatmeal Streusel French Toast (pages 46—48).

Makes 2 cups

 

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons spiced rum

3 teaspoons corn starch

 

Combine the cream, sugar, maple syrup, and 1/3 cup rum in a medium saucepan and bring to a slow boil over low heat. Dissolve the corn starch in the remaining 3 tablespoons of rum. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture, lower the heat, and cook for another 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from the heat and serve warm.

When cool, store in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze for up to 3 weeks. Simply reheat in the microwave on low to warm.

 

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