For the French Toast:
10 slices Albany Superior Brown Bread, crusts removed
1 tablespoon (15ml) butter, diced
2 tablespoons (30ml) brown sugar
For the Strawberry Compote:
250g strawberries, halved
1 tablespoon (15ml) castor sugar
Few mint leaves, finely chopped
For the Filling:
250g smooth cottage cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup (80ml) sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice
For the Egg Custard:
3 eggs
1⁄2 cup (125ml) milk
1⁄4 cup (60ml) sugar
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla essence
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line an 11cm x 21cm loaf tin with baking paper. For the cream cheese filling, mix together all the ingredients until smooth.
For the egg custard, mix together all the ingredients. For the French toast, quickly dip 2 slices of Albany Superior into the egg custard. Line the base of the loaf tin with the egg dipped slices. Repeat twice more so you have 3 layers of egg dipped bread.
Spoon the cream cheese filling over the bread. Then top with two more layers of egg-dipped bread. Scatter the butter and sugar over the top. Bake for about 55 minutes until golden and puffed. Rest for 15 minutes in the tin before turning out.
For the strawberry compote, heat the strawberries, sugar and mint for about 1 minute until the sugar has melted. Serve with the French Toast Bake.