French Toast Souffle

I love french toast, but when having friends over - I don't want to be a short-order cook! This casserole is a huge crowd pleaser and doesn't come out too sweet. The recipes calls for it to be made ahead, but I've made it just a few hours ahead of serving and it came out just fine!

Ingredients:
10 cups or about 16 slices of (1-inch) cubed sturdy white bread (such as Pepperidge Farm Hearty White)
Cooking spray
1 (8 oz.) block of 1/3-less-fat-cream cheese, softened
8 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of 2% reduced-fat milk
2/3 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tablespoons powdered sugar (or enough to dust the top of the casserole)
3/4 cup maple syrup (if desired for serving)

Directions:
1. Place bread cubes in a 13x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
2. Beat cream cheese at medium speed until smooth.
3. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. Add milk, half-and-half, 1/2 cup maple syrup, and vanilla, and mix until smooth (I often still have little cream cheese chunks, but then smoosh them out with a rubber spatula)
5. Pour cream cheese mixture over top of bread, cover and refrigerate overnight (I have also gently used a spoon to toss the bread cubes in the dish to be sure it was all coated with the mixture befor I put it in the fridge to speed up the process if I'm making it the same day)
6. Remove bread mixture from refrigerator, and let stand on counter for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375-degrees.
7. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes or until set. (Be sure to call people into the kitchen as you pull it out of the oven to see the souffle while it's all puffy and gorgeous - it will soon deflate.)
8. Sprinkle the souffle with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup (and maybe a side of sausage.) Yum!