Surprise guests with the sweet aroma of bread baked in a rich custard sauce and generously topped with streusel and berry-infused maple syrup. Refrigerate the dish overnight and it’s ready to bake the next morning, making brunch a breeze.

Raspberry-Almond French Toast Bake

Grease a 3-quart rectangular baking dish.  Place bread slices in baking dish; set aside.

For custard, in a medium bowl whisk together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla and almond extract. Carefully pour over the bread in dish. Using the back of a serving spoon, press bread to coat with custard. Cover dish and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

For crumb topping, in a medium bowl combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in almonds. Transfer to a storage container; cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove dish from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Add crumb topping and bake for 30 minutes more or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and topping is puffed and golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Just before serving, in a small saucepan heat maple syrup over medium-high heat just until boiling. Add 1 cup raspberries; slightly mash berries. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup berries on casserole; top with berry-syrup mixture. If desired, sprinkle powdered sugar on top.