Raspberries & Cinnamon? Oui, s'il vous plaît!

First, let me say that I hope your Easter was wonderful, and that the glorious hope in that celebration continues to color your year/ your life . . . more vividly than the sparkliest rainbow-dipped egg!

And secondly: Before we go into full sugar withdrawal from our feasting (I was going to say before we go "cold-turkey," but that seems more suitable for a Thanksgiving day over-indulgence), I'm going to share a recipe for one more sweet treat.

By popular demand, after I posted photos on Facebook:

OVERNIGHT RASPBERRY-CINNAMON FRENCH TOAST BAKE

(adapted from a recipe by tasteofhome)

This was the first time I'd tried this particular recipe, and I couldn't have been more delighted at the results--a  big hit, very pretty, AND super-simple. Convenient, too, since it is for the most part assembled the night before. 

Here are the ingredients that I used:

12 slices of bread (I used sourdough) crusts removed and sliced into cubes
5 eggs, beaten
1 3/4 cups whole milk (I used half & half) because I had it)
1 cup brown sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated if you can)
1/2 cup almond slices
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups of fresh raspberries

Directions:

Place bread cubes in a buttered 13 X 9 inch baking dish
In a bowl combine: eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Pour the milk mixture over the bread cubes, cover, and refrigerate overnight (or for 8 hours)
Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Sprinkle almonds over the bread mixture.
Combine melted butter and last 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Drizzle it over the top of the bread mixure.
Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
Sprinkle with the raspberries. Then bake 10 minutes longer, or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

( I put maple syrup on the table, but no one used it--this dish is moist and sweet enough as is.)

So there you go: Serve warm from the oven, and . . . Bon appetit!