Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup Neufchatel Cheese or 1/3 less fat Cream Cheese )
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk
• 5 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 10 graham cracker sheets crushed )
• 10 – 1 1/4 " slices day old french bread)
• Vanilla Cream Syrup
• sweetened whipped cream )

Directions

1. Preheat a nonstick griddle over medium heat or an electric griddle to 325 degrees. In a mixing bowl, using a fork, combine Neufchatel Cheese and raspberry jam, stir until well combine and nearly smooth (it's ok if theres a few small lumps), set aside.
2. In a blender combine buttermilk, milk, eggs, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and vanilla.
3. Blend on low speed for 10 seconds.
4. Pour mixture into a shallow bowl, set aside.
5. Pour crushed graham crackers or corn flakes into a seperate shallow bowl, set aside.
6. Make a slit down the center of each slice of bread cutting about 3/4 of the way down (basically your making a butterfly, the bread should be slit down the middle but still connected).
7. Spread 1 1/2 Tbsp of the raspberry mixture on one side of the inside of each slice of bread where slit was made, then very gently press bread together.
8. Butter preheated griddle and dip one side of filled bread into milk/egg mixture (giving it a few seconds to soak up mixture and being carefull not to immerse the center filled with raspberry mixture) then flip and dip opposite side several seconds.
9. Allow a bit of the excess to drip off then dip and coat both sides in crushed graham crackers. Place coated slice on preheated buttered griddle and cook until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes) then lift french toast with a spatula, butter griddle again and flip french toast. Cook opposite side until golden.
10. Repeat process with remaining slices of bread.
11. Serve cooked french toast immediately along with vanilla cream syrup and optional sweetened whipped cream.