Julia Chiles - Chicago Style Recipes: A Complete Cookbook of Midwest US Dish Ideas!

Breakfast usually isnt a difficult meal to prepare, but this recipe raises the bar. These are called bliss cakes with good reason. They are positively decadent. This is my home version of the Chicago restaurant favorite.

Serving Size: 8 Servings

Preparation Time: 1 1/4 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 sliced loaf of challah bread
• 1 x 10-oz. jar of preserves, blueberry or blackberry
• 6 beaten eggs, large
• 1 1/2 cups of milk, whole
• 2 tbsp. of syrup, maple
• 1 tbsp. of vanilla extract, pure
• 1 lemon, fresh, zest only
• 1/2 tsp. of salt, kosher
• 6 tbsp. of melted butter, unsalted
• 1 cup of blackberries, fresh
• 1/4 cup of cream, heavy
• To serve: maple syrup and confectioners sugar

Instructions:

1. Grease 13x9 casserole dish with unsalted butter.

2. Slice the pieces of bread into halves. Cut nearly through but leave 1/4 at bottom. Spread inside of bread with jam and press so it becomes enclosed.

3. Whisk milk, eggs, butter, salt, zest, vanilla and maple syrup in large sized bowl. Submerge all pieces of bread, one at a time, in egg mixture. Allow pieces to sit for a minute or longer each to soak in eggs.

4. Arrange bread in prepared casserole dish. Pour remainder of the egg mixture over all slices.

5. Cover bread. Place in refrigerator for at least an hour, or for the overnight.

6. When you are ready to prepare the dish, preheat oven to 375F.

7. Sprinkle 1/2 blackberries over the top of French toast. Transfer it to oven. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. French toast should be crisp and golden. If tops of bread are browning too quickly, just cover the French toast loosely with aluminum foil.

8. Whip cream in medium bowl till it forms stiff peaks. Add 1 tbsp. of powdered sugar and stir it in.

9. Top French toast with syrup and fresh berries. Serve warm.

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