Pain Perdu (French Toast) with Cream Cheese and Blueberry Syrups

One of my life-long dreams has been to have my very own B&B . . . a nice country home with lovely cosy rooms, soft puffy beds . . . a home away from home for weary travellers . . .



With killer breakfasts served up, hot and delicious from my very own country kitchen. Breakfasts that keep my guests coming back for more year after year . . .



Signature Breakfasts that make my place unique and cosy . . . that have my guests thinking about and drooling for years to come . . .



Breakfasts like this delicious Pain Perdu with Cream Cheese and Blueberry Syrups . . . the Pain Perdu, all crisp and golden on the outside . . . but creamy and custardy inside . . . served up hot and gilded with not one . . . but two fabulicious syrups. YES!! not just one . . . but TWO tasty syrups . . .



The first a delicious cream cheese syrup . . . creamy and decadent, but amazingly . . . low in fat.



The second a wonderfully fruity blueberry syrup . . .



The two together . . . well, dare I say it??? M-O-R-E-I-S-H-L-Y scrummy yummy!!



The breakfast would not be complete without some crisp and smoky back bacon on the side . . . dry cure of course . . . oak smoked . . . yes . . . everything is better with bacon, is it not???



Oh, and for the true glutton . . . on the side . . . fresh large free range eggs, lightly sauteed in a mixture of maple syrup and butter . . .



Is this a breakfast that would have you coming back for more?? I sure hope so! A gal can dream can't she???



*Pain Perdu (French Toast) with Cream Cheese and Blueberry Syrups*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Dangerously delicious stuff. With this kind of food being served at home, why would anyone ever want to go out??

For the French Toast:
8 large slices of a hearty french bread
375ml of whole milk, warmed (1 1/2 cups)
3 large free range egg yolks
3 TBS light muscovado sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 TBS butter melted (plus more for cooking)
pinch of table salt
1 TBS vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract

Cream Cheese Syrup:
250g package of light cream cheese (I8 ounce package)
250ml of pure maple syrup (1 cup)

For the Blueberry Syrup:
250g of wild blueberry preserves (jam)
4 TBS of liquid honey

icing sugar or vanilla bean dusting sugar to serve (optional)



Preheat your oven to 150*C/300*F/ gas mark 3. Place a rack onto a baking tray. Lay the bread onto the rack and then bake the bread slices in the heated oven for about 15 minutes, flipping them over halfway through the baking time, until amost dried through. Let cool before proceeding. Remove the rack from the baking tray and put the oven tray back in the oven. Leave the oven on.

Beat together the milk, egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, salt, vanilla and lemon extract. Blend well and then pour this into a 13 by 9 inch pan. Add half of the dried bread slices in one layer. Allow to soak for about half a minute, then carefully flip over and allow the other side to soak up some of the mixture. Remove, allowing any excess egg mixture to drip off, to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining four slices.

Heat a knob of butter in a large nonstick frying pan until it begins to foam, over medium low heat. Add half of the bread slices. Cook until golden brown on one side, some 3 to 4 m inutes, flip over and brown the other side. Remove to the baking sheet in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining pieces of bread.

To make the cream cheese syrup, whisk together the cream cheese and maple syrup until smooth. Place in a jug for pouring.

To make the blueberry syrup whisk together the jam and the honey. Heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds and whisk again. Put into a jug for serving and keep warm.

Place two slices of cooked french toast on each of 4 heated plates. Dust with the vanilla bean sugar, or icing sugar (if using) and then drizzle with some of each of the cream cheese and blueberry syrups. Pass any remainder at the table for people to add their own.

Serve with crisp bacon and or maple syrup fried eggs. (To fry eggs in maple syrup, drop about 2 TBS of maple syrup into a nonstick skillet along with 2 TBS of butter. Let the butter melt and whisk together to combine. When it just begins to bubble drop in the eggs and cook until they are as done as you prefer, turning or not, again as you prefer.)