On Monday I burned my sweet potato fries to a blackened crisp. On Tuesday, my laptop just wouldn’t start up and much freaking out ensued. On Wednesday, I was caught in a freak downpour walking home – soaked right down to my underwear. Can I just say that things have not gone to plan lately.

I could blame Mercury in retrograde and think ‘this sucks!’ – in fact for the first couple of days I did. But I have been trying to dig deeper and explore the possibility that there are big and small lessons to learn.

I was really sick last week and had no choice but to rest. I had work deadlines and a million things to do. I didn’t have time to be sick! Why is this happening to me?! But after fighting my body and trying to push on I just felt worse and worse. This has actually happened to me quite a few times in the last year, as if the universe is done sending me hints and has resorted to big blaring neon signs. The lesson here? I had to stop and rest. Was it easy? Heck no. But it was necessary.

I had a completely different recipe planned to go up this week – something really fresh and summery. But with the drizzly weather we’re having, all I want to eat is warm and cozy comfort food. I think I needed to learn to go with the flow and that it’s ok to sometimes abandon your plans when something doesn’t feel right. Enter this delicious breakfast.

Have you ever tried a Baked French Toast?

I used to be a strictly pancake only girl for years, but french toast and waffles have started to make an appearance on special occasions. However, I had never thought to make French Toast in the oven until now. I suppose it is similar to a bread and butter pudding, except better.

Today’s recipe was 100% inspired by the blog Half Baked Harvest. I have been reading this fantastic blog in bed while I was sick! I absolutely love Tieghan’s beautiful food photography and her flavour combinations speak to my soul. I also recently bought her stunning cookbook and bookmarked a casual 20 or so recipes to try! Her Baked French Toast used blackberries but I wanted to make the most of in-season raspberries before they disappear.

I used a fruit challah loaf that I cut into slices, spread with raspberry jam and sandwiched together as the base of the french toast. You can use whatever bread you like – brioche would be perfect, or even hot cross buns would be a really fun Easter twist!

The ricotta in the egg mix was a really great addition, making it very light and creamy. I also really enjoyed the leftovers! I reheated the slices in a frypan with melted butter, gently browning each side so they got warm and a little crispy.

I really loved how simple it was! You could even assemble this the night before, then all you need to do is bake it while your morning coffee brews. Perfect for a special Easter or Mother’s Day breakfast.

Related Post: Carrot Cake Ricotta Pancake

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Raspberry and Ricotta Baked French Toast

Raspberry and Ricotta Baked French Toast, a delicious breakfast for special occasions like Easter or Mother’s Day. The flavours are delicious and you can even assemble it the night before!

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Keyword Breakfast, Brunch, French Toast

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 loaf challah or brioche, cut into 2cm slices
• 1 jar raspberry or strawberry jam
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 20 g butter, melted
• 250 g raspberries
• Icing sugar, to serve
• Extra honey or maple syrup, to serve
• Pouring cream, to serve

Instructions

1. Grease a ceramic baking dish with butter. I used an oval one about 25 x 18cm.

2. Slice the bread in half, spread with raspberry jam and sandwich the halves back together. Arrange the bread in the prepared baking dish, overlapping slightly.
3. In a bowl or jug, whisk together the eggs, milk, ricotta, honey, vanilla, cinnamon and melted butter. Pour over the top of the bread, making sure to cover every piece. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
4. Preheat your oven to 180°C (375°F) and sprinkle half of the raspberries over the bread. Bake for 40 minutes, checking on it at the half way point. If the top is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
5. Serve warm with the remaining fresh raspberries, a dusting of icing sugar and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup and pouring cream.