Very Berry Whole-Wheat Bread Pudding

For the pudding...
1 cup frozen or fresh cherries, pitted
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 ounces whole-wheat bread, cubed (about 3 cups)
2 eggs
3/4 cup low-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
cooking spray

For the topping...
1 ounce sliced almonds
1 teaspoon powdered sugar

For the sauce...
1 pound bag frozen unsweetened mixed berries
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Combine cherries, berries, sugar, and cinnamon in bowl. Stir to coat berries and add bread cubes. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and salt. Pour egg/milk mixture over berry/bread mixture and stir to coat bread thoroughly. Let mixture stand for 15-30 minutes to combine ingredients and allow the bread to soak up the egg mixture.
Preheat oven to 325 F; spray 9 inch baking dish. Pour pudding mixture into baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and distribute almonds over pudding. Return to oven and bake 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest 10  minutes. Garnish with powdered sugar and serve warm.

For sauce, Thaw berries overnight in refrigerator. Save drained juice and mix with cornstarch. Cook berries over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes. Add juice mixture to berries and heat until thickened. Serve over or alongside pudding.