Cranberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 - 1 1/4 lb white bread, unsliced
1/4 lb cream cheese, softened
1 -2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 (14 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 1/4 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
unsalted butter
vegetable oil
confectioners' sugar
maple syrup, warmed

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300F (150C).
Butter a baking sheet.
Cut bread into 8 equal slices about 1 inch thick.
Mash the cream cheese with 1 tbsp sugar and almond extract in a medium bowl.
Stir in the cranberries and taste.
Add more sugar if the flavor is too tart.
The mixture should be thick and chunky.
In a shallow dish or bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, 1 tbsp sugar, vanilla, and salt.
With a serrated knife, cut a pocket into the side of each piece of bread, carefully slicing into but not through the bread.
Spoon equal portions of the filling into each slice.
Dunk the stuffed bread slices into the egg mixture and soak for several minutes, turning if needed to coat evenly, until saturated but short of falling apart.
Warm 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil together on a griddle or in a large heavy skillet over medium heat.
Briefly cook the French toast in batches until golden brown and lightly crisp, turning once.
Place the first slices on the baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven.
Continue cooking the remaining slices, adding more butter and oil as needed.
When all of the French toast is ready, dust it with confectioners' sugar, sprinkling it through a strainer.
Serve immediately with maple syrup.