Cornflake Crusted Berries & Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

I love to bake bread from scratch. There's just something about developing that foamy yeast and watching the dough rise hour after hour into a fluffy, delicious smelling puff ball. Then baking off in the oven leaving the house smelling of the most delectable aroma that would cause anyone to drool! I'm obsessed. I used to make homemade bread every single day, now I average a couple times a week because life just seems to get busier as the years go by. There are so many breads I love to make, but I have a few favorites.

Challah bread is one of those. That rich, sweet, buttery bread just leaves your palette smiling after a tasty bite. After making a couple loaves, there always seems to be a some left the next day which just urges me to make it into a delectable french toast!

There is an amazing breakfast place in New York City called Norma's. It's located inside the Le Parker Meridien in Manhattan, just south of Central Park. It has several outrageous menu items for brunch and my husband always loves to try them out. I remember one included a corn flake crusted french toast. I was thinking about that the other day while recommending the restaurant to a friend that was visiting the city. So then, naturally, I decided to make it myself.

I cut the challah into 1" thick slices grilled them up on ONE side with butter in my cast iron skillet then let them cool for a few minutes until I could handle them. I then took my Kite Hill Almond based cream cheese spread and added some sugar and vanilla to it and whipped it up by hand. I generously spread it between two pieces of the toasted sides of the challah, added some sliced strawberries and blueberries and sandwiched the 2 pieces of bread together.

 I dipped each side in an cinnamon spiced egg wash and then set them in a bowl of crushed up corn flake cereal. From there, they were set in the skillet and grilled on all sides until crispy!

I plated them with a homemade blueberry reduction and of course, some powdered sugar and fresh whipped cream!

Who needs syrup! ;)