Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast

Fluffy brioche bread, filled with a strawberry cream cheese, and cooked in custard, this strawberry cream cheese french toast is the perfect weekend breakfast.

How do you make crispy and fluffy french toast?

The custard egg bath needs to have enough milk so that the toast doesn’t taste like scrambled eggs. The bread should be well soaked but with fluffy bread it can’t sit forever in the custard or it will start to fall apart. I prefer french toast cooked in butter over medium low heat in a cast iron pan for the best crisp and flavor. If the heat is too high, it won’t warm through and will burn.

What is the best bread to use for french toast?

I love using any sort of fluffy brioche bread for french toast. Usually I recommend a challah bread but when stuffing french toast I find it’s better to use a taller sandwich loaf so there is more room for the filling. Whole Foods has a great brioche loaf in their bakery section. A babka style bread like this Orange Cardamom Babka works amazingly too!

How do you make strawberry cream cheese?

The key to a good strawberry cream cheese is using freeze dried strawberries; they keep their bright fresh flavor without all of the added moisture. Simply blend the freeze dried strawberries with the cream cheese. For this french toast the filling also adds greek yogurt to keep it lighter.

Tips for making Strawberries and Cream French Toast

• While fresh bread will always be delicious, the magic of french toast is that you can use day old or even two day old bread.
• For the filling be sure to use freeze dried strawberries, not fresh. If you can’t find freeze dried strawberries, any other freeze dried berries will work too! Or you can use fresh raspberries or blueberries in the opening just not blended into the filling.
• Cut the slices of bread nice and thick but when cutting the slit be sure not to cut through the other three sides.
• Don’t skimp on the filling, you want quite a bit of it in the bread because it will somewhat melt into the bread as it cooks.
• Be careful not to soak the bread for too long or it will fall apart before making it into the pan.
• Keep the pan heat relatively low. Because the slices are actually sandwiches and therefore quite thick, they take a little longer to cook than normal. If the heat is too high, the bread will burn before the inside is cooked through.
• Stuffed french toast will always taste best day of but it actually reheats well if stored in an airtight container in the fridge!
• Ideally top it with a dusting of powdered sugar and if you feel like it, a bit of extra whipped cream!

Additional Breakfast Recipes to try!

• Lemon Ricotta French Toast
• Dutch Baby
• Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

Strawberries & Cream French Toast Ingredients

• Brioche Loaf Bread: I love using brioche bread for french toast and recommend using a taller sandwich loaf style to get the most filling to bread ratio.
• Cream Cheese: I recommend using regular full fat cream cheese but quark or creme fraîche will work too!
• Freeze Dried Strawberries: Freeze dried strawberries are best for the filling because they have that fresh flavor without adding water. Any other freeze dried berries will work too!
• Greek Yogurt: This is best with plain unflavored greek yogurt. Using a sweetened or other style of yogurt that isn’t as firm will lead to a very soft filling that will run out.
• Heavy cream: A splash of heavy cream will thin out the filling as needed and make it easier to blend.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds flavor and enhances the flavor of the filling and the egg custard.
• Salt: A pinch of fine sea salt seasons the filling and the egg custard.
• Eggs: I use two standard large egg per 3 stuffed french toasts.
• Milk: Any milk will work to whisk with the egg but I usually use 2% cows milk.
• Butter: I prefer salted butter for cooking the french toast but again any butter will work

How to make a Stuffed French Toast?

Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling

• In a small blender or food processor, add in the cream cheese, freeze dried strawberries, greek yogurt, vanilla, salt.
• Blend until smooth. Add in a splash or two of heavy cream as needed until you are able to get a smooth filling that is blended.

Assemble

• Slice the brioche loaf into 2″ thick slices.
• Use the knife to cut a slit in the bottom of each slice that creates a pocket inside of the bread.
• Basically you want to cut the slice into two but don’t cut through the two sides and top of the slice.
• Use a spoon or knife to fill each slice with the strawberry cream cheese filling. Be sure to really fill em up and press the filling into all corners of the opening.

Cook

• In a baking dish, whisk together the eggs with a pinch of salt. Then add in the milk and vanilla and whisk again.
• Heat a cast iron skillet (any pan will work but cast iron will give the best crisp), over medium low heat with a decent amount of butter – it kind of depends on how big your pan is but basically you want a bubbling coating of butter in the pan.
• While the pan heats up and the butter melts, soak both sides of the first two slices of stuffed french toast in the custard mixture.
• Place the soaked slices in the warm pan. They should sizzle slightly when you put them in, if they don’t increase the heat slightly, if the are wildly sizzling, turn the heat down. Let them cook until golden brown and then flip to cook the second side. 
• Cook again until golden brown. Keep them warm on a baking sheet in the oven set to 200 F. Then repeat with the remaining slices. 
• Optionally dust the slices with powdered sugar and or top with a bit of whipped cream.

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