Baked Raspberry French Toast

I stumbled across this recipe several years ago when I was VERY single. It was in an article focussing on singles. It was suggested as a breakfast for "sleepovers". LOL Everything except the baking is done the day before. If you choose to make it for a crowd multiply the ingredients and bake it in a casserole dish. It's quite elegant and still is one of my favorites.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 2
• Yields: 2 ramekins

Ingredients

• 4  slices  Italian bread, day old cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1⁄2 cup raspberries
• 2  ounces cream cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 3  eggs
• 1  cup milk
• 1  tablespoon maple syrup
• 2  tablespoons  raspberry preserves, seedless
• 1  cup maple syrup
• 2  sprigs mint, for garnish

Directions

1. The night before: Grease two 8 ounce ramekins.
2. Line with half the bread cubes.
3. Cover with raspberries and cream cheese.
4. Top with remaining bread cubes.
5. Beat together eggs, milk and the 1 Tablespoon maple syrup.
6. Pour egg mixture over bread mixture.
7. Cover and place in fridge overnight.
8. In the morning bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. While ramekins are baking, mix together the raspberry preserves and remaining maple syrup. Heat over low heat until preserves are melted. You may want to adjust these quantities depending on how much raspberry flavor you want in the syrup.
10. Remove french toast from ramekins.
11. Drizzle syrup over french toast.
12. Garnish with a sprig of mint.