French Toast Question

[jkath]

I'm thinking about using my Overnight Blueberry French Toast recipe for everyone the morning after Thanksgiving. But, I'd like to change out the blueberries for cranberries, making it a more "holiday" breakfast. Because of their tartness, how much sugar would you add? Also, what type of sugar: white, brown, powdered? And, if I wanted to add orange zest, how much would you recommend?

Any and all other suggestions would be so appreciated!

Here's the recipe as it stands:

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

12 slices white bread, no crusts, cut into 1" square cubes
2 pkgs. cream cheese, in 1" cubes
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
12 eggs
2 c. milk
1/3 c. maple syrup

Sauce:
1 c. sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 c. water
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
2 Tbsp. butter

Place half of the bread cubes into a greased 13x9 pan & place cream cheese on top. Top w/ blueberries & remaining bread. In a large bowl,
beat eggs well, Add milk & syrup & mix. Pour over bread mixture. Cover & chill overnight. Remove from fridge 30 min. before baking.
Cover & bake @ 350 for 30 minutes, then uncover & bake 25-30 minutes till golden & center is set.
In a saucepan, combine sugar & cornstarch; add water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in blueberries; reduce heat. Simmer for 8-10 mintues or until berries have burst. Stir in butter until melted.
Serve over French Toast.

 

[Gretchen]

I don't think too much. It would be really good too, I think. Maybe a quarter cup? You're going to have a sweetness in the sauce.

 

[middie]

Use the zest of a whole orange Jkath. Unless you're going to use dried peel then I'd say about 1/2 tablespoon. As far as sugar goes maybe 1/4 of a cup more.

 

[Andy M.]

Since you're cooking the sauce, use dried crans. They are typically sweetened. When the cooking is done, taste the sauce and decide if it's sweet enough. If not, you can easily add a bit more sugar.

 

[Gretchen]

I think using fresh would be much more "distinctive"--a little burst of red. Dried would be a lot like raisins to me. I make a blueberry French toast (it's here somewhere) using fresh. SO good.

 

[Katie H]

You could "plump" the cranberries first with some hot water. Then drain the water and use it to make up the 1 cup of water you need for the sauce. Sounds like a great Thanksgiving breakfast idea. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[urmaniac13]

I agree with Andy about dried cranberry. Soak them in OJ, that will give the right consistency and sweetness. Tried it this way for making muffins, and worked well.

 

[Andy M.]

The recipe calls for simmering the fruit in a thickened simple syrup. They will plump up then. No need to pre-treat them.

 

[Gretchen]

The blueberries are also in the bread pudding portion. That is the part I am saying to use fresh, not dried. Otherwise it is more like raisins--(which I basically don't even like in French toast unless it is raisin bread).
And I would still use the fresh cranberries in the sauce also. The latter will be very much like a, well, cranberry sauce. Probably won't take much to "dress" the toast servings.
I think it will be a pretty interesting variation.