Mixed Berry Bread Pudding

I am not a huge fan of sweets but I have always liked bread puddings because they are simple, quick and versatile. This recipe is basically a fancy french toast because I ended up using pancake syrup on top instead of making a sauce. A couple of weeks later I made a lemon poppy seed one that was great as well. I cooked mine in one large dish and then used a round cookie cutter to cut a couple slices and stack it up. You can make individual ones if you have ramekins that would be an appropriate size. Having something warm for dessert is perfect for those lazy Sunday's where all you want to do is loaf around and read or watch movies. I went with blueberries and raspberries only because they were on sale.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 loaf French bread (stale)
• 1/4 cup butter (softened)
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 - 3 cups fresh berries
• Pancake or Maple syrup  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
2. In a large bowl, combine the milk, vanilla and nutmeg. Toss in the bread and let soak for a couple minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir into the bread mixture. Gently fold in the berries.
4. Pour the pudding mixture into a pan (I used a glass casserole dish). Bake in the oven for about 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the pudding turns golden brown.

It will have a great crust on the top and should be creamy, warm and soft in the middle.