Baked French Toast with Berry Sauce

This is a great option for a weekend breakfast.  It can be mixed up the night before and then you can sneak down in the morning and pop it into the oven.  Then you can sneak back to bed for awhile if you wish or relax on the couch for a bit before the natives start waking up.  It makes the whole house smell divine, which makes the rest of your family come down the stairs happy and hungry and loving you.  You get tons of credit  and you didn't even have to get a single bowl dirty.
I think that the mixed berry sauce is what really takes this Baked French Toast to another level and even that can be made ahead of time and reheated.  I also think the toasted almonds give it the texture that it needs, so don't skip that step unless you are opposed to nuts like my son can be sometimes.

Baked French Toast - serves 4
1/2 a baguette, day old is best
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar

Tear baguette into large bite-size pieces and place in a buttered 1 3/4 quart or 2 quart baking dish.  (I spray the baking dish and then sprinkle sugar in the bottom.)   Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over bread.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until center is not jiggly anymore.  Serve with berry sauce and toasted almonds or your favorite syrup.

Mixed Berry Sauce
In a small saucepan mix 2 cups berries...any combination works, with 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch.  Mix to combine and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens and berries start to break down a bit...add a little more water if sauce is too thick.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

*This sauce is also delicious on pancakes, waffles, yogurt, cheesecake, or ice cream and it keeps well in the refrigerator.  I have even been known to heat a leftover biscuit slightly and spoon this sauce over it with a scoop of ice cream on the side.