French Toast Souffle

I made this recipe for Christmas morning last year and it was delicious. I was pleasantly suprised. I'd been wanting to find a french toast recipe like this for a couple years, after I had one at our Royalty Womens retreat weekend up in McCall a few years ago.

Ingredients:

10 cups white bread cubes

1 (8oz) pkg lowfat cream cheese, softened

8 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2/3 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Directions:

Place bread cubes in a lightly greased 9x13 in. baking pan. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in milk, half and half, maple syrup, and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over the bread; cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, remove souffle from fridge and let stand at room temp for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat overn to 375*. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Spring with powdered sugar and serve warm. Add extra maple syrup on top if your taste buds are calling for it!