Overnight Berry Cream Cheese French Toast

Whew-that's a long title! You could just shorten it to "yummy" because that is all you need to know. I made this over the weekend and we loved it. For our small family, there were a lot of leftovers and I was worried but we reheated and ate it again this morning and it was even better! I have seen many versions of this recipe at different places but this is my variation. Throw this together the night before, bake in the morning and enjoy! I also had this great idea for this as a take along dish. If you are going to be taking a dish to someone who had a baby, is in crisis, moving, etc...I was thinking you could prepare this and take it the night before, having them just pop it in the oven in the morning.

What You Need:
French Toast
12 slices bread, cut into cubes (I used Texas Toast but I'm sure french bread works)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut in cubes
2 cups fresh or frozen mixed berries (I used a frozen mix of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries)
12 large eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups milk (I used one cup regular milk and 1 cup vanilla soy milk)


Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup mixed berries
1 Tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Directions:
Arrange 1/2 of the bread cubes in a greased 9 x 13 pan.
Sprinkle cream cheese cubes and berries evenly over the bread cubes.
Top with remaining bread cubes.
Mix together eggs, milk, and syrup.
Pour over bread cubes and cover pan with foil. Let chill in refrigerator overnight.
Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until fluffy and golden. Top with sauce. Serves 8.

Sauce: Cook water, sugar, and cornstarch until thickened. Stir in berries and cinnamon and simmer for 10 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted. Serve over the french toast.