Blackberry Pecan French Toast

I love breakfast! My kidos do too. I have one little guy that loves a hot breakfast. As soon as he wakes up he asks, "What's for breakfast?" If I tell him cereal, he will start to cry. It's a good thing that I love to cook. We go through about 10 to 15 dozen eggs a month. I am crazy- I know! Anyways, I love breakfast foods that can be prepared the night before for quicker mornings. This is one recipe that has to be made the night before and is oh so yummy. I made this for our sunday morning breakfast. When we came home from church, we ate it for lunch again. We really liked it!



Blackberry Pecan French Toast
INGREDIENTS:
1 Lg. Loaf French Bread
8 Eggs
3 C. Whole Milk
½ tsp. Grated Nutmeg
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 C. Brown Sugar, Divided
2 C. Blackberries
5 Tbs. Butter, Divided
¼ tsp. Salt
1 C. Pecan Halves
Syrup:
2 C. Blackberries
1 C. Maple Syrup
1 Tbs. Lemon Juice
INSTRUCTIONS:
Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cut bread into 1-inch slices and arrange in a single layer in bottom of baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg, vanilla, and ¾ C. brown sugar. Pour evenly over bread. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle blackberries evenly over bread mixture. Put 4 Tbs. butter in a saucepan, add ¼ C. brown sugar and salt. Stir until butter is melted; drizzle over bread mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until liquid is bubbling (a little longer if using frozen berries). In the last few minutes of baking, top French toast with pecans. Watch carefully so not to allow nuts to burn. For syrup: In a saucepan, cook all ingredients over medium heat until berries burst. Pour syrup through a sieve into a heat proof pitcher. Stir in lemon juice.
Comments: For the syrup, I did not pour through a sieve. It was more like a sauce than a syrup but we do not mind the seeds.

I found this recipe in the California Bed and Breakfast Association cookbook.