Blueberry French Toast Souffle

Grease a 13 x 9 casserole dish. Roughly chop french bread loaf into bite sized pieces. Start layering pan with half of the bread pieces, then half of the blueberries, remainder of bread pieces and remainder of blueberries. In a standing mixer, beat softened cream cheese until completely smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the milk, half and half, Maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth, making sure to scrape down sides of bowl occasionally. Pour this cream cheese mixture over the casserole dish, evenly covering all areas. Sprinkle with lemon zest. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours, or up to 24 hours . When ready to bake, take casserole out and let sit out on counter for 30 minutes to bring back to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Bake covered for 30 minutes and then uncovered for another 30-35 minutes, or until it sets and begins to turn a golden brown. Once cooked, let sit out for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve each souffle slice with warm blueberry sauce drizzled over the top, if desired. While souffle is sitting out for last 10 minutes, make the blueberry sauce. In a small saucepan, add water, sugar and slowly heat until sugar dissolves. Slowly whisk in corn starch to thicken. Add 1 cup of the blueberries and continue stirring on medium to high heat until blueberries begin to pop and mixture begins to thicken. Once mixture begins to thicken, add 2nd cup of blueberries and butter and continue to stir for a couple more minutes. Towards the end, add the lemon zest for freshness and stir into mixture. Serve this warm syrup with the blueberry souffle.