Baked Blueberry & Pecan Crusted French Toast

The wonderful recipe that Tiffany shared yesterday, for Annunciation Blueberry Coffee Cake, reminded me of the delicious Baked Blueberry & Pecan Crusted French Toast that I served my family last year on Easter Sunday.   It worked out nicely since I was able to make it the night before and just pop it in the oven after Mass.  It would be a great breakfast for any of the feasts of Our Lady, the color blue (blueberries in this recipe) symbolizes Mary.   

Baked Blueberry & Pecan Crusted French Toast
Adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:

12 slices of day-old French bread
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Arrange bread in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, 3/4 cup brown sugar, vanilla and nutmeg; pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.   (To make sure that the bottom didn't end up too soggy I flipped the bread over before adding the toppings and baking.) 

Sprinkle pecans over egg mixture. Combine butter and remaining sugar; drizzle over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with blueberries. Bake 10 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.