French toast is an all around all time favorite. It’s sweet but not overbearing, filling but won’t weigh you down, and every bite is packed with flavor. What else could you ask for in breakfast? We took it one step further and dressed it up for special occasions (though you may find yourself making excuses to eat this all the time).
While it may seem daunting to make all the components to this meal, almost everything can be done a day ahead (and they come together rather quickly), making your special breakfast just about as easy as regular french toast. But what makes this recipe so special? It’s because you have two thick slices of bread with delicious sweetened cream cheese filling, mixed with homemade strawberry sauce, then topped with delicious thick cream cheese whipped cream, then topped with crunchy almonds!
Servings: 6
Calories: 770kcal
Ingredients
Batter
- 6 eggs lightly beaten
- 4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Strawberry Sauce
- 3 cup strawberries diced small
- ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1½ tbsp corn starch
Filling
- 6 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 1 tsp lemon zest see instructions
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Whipped Cream
- 8 oz heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp confectionery sugar
- ½ tsp almond extract
Other
- 6 tbsp sliced almonds toasted
- 12 slices Texas toast
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
Whipped Cream
- Place metal bowl and whisk in freezer for 5 minutes (you can start the strawberry sauce while you wait).
- Add heavy whipping cream to the bowl and beat until cream starts to form soft peaks (do not over beat or you will make butter), about 4-5 minutes. Add cream cheese and continue to beat until well incorporated, about 2-3 minutes. Add confectionery sugar and almond extract, beating until stiff peaks form. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
Strawberry Sauce
- Put strawberries, water, lemon juice, and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Let simmer until strawberries start to break down and sugar is fully dissolved, about 5-7 minutes. In a small bowl mix cornstarch with 2 tbsp cold water. Add to strawberry mixture and let simmer until the liquid thickens to syrup consistency. Remove from heat.
Filling
- Using a fine grater, zest about ¼ lemon in a small bowl. You can use a traditional zester and chop zest so you don't get long strings of zest in the filling and so the flavor is more evenly distributed in the filling.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Batter
- Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl large enough to accommodate 2 slices of Texas toast.
Let's Put It Together!
- Line up all 12 sliced of Texas toast. Spread ½ ounce of filling on one side of each slice. Add 1-2 tbsp of strawberry sauce (depending on personal preference) on 6 slices of the bread, spreading evenly. Top with bread that only have cream cheese, creating a "sandwich". Repeat until you have 6 complete sandwiches.
- Add butter in a griddle and heat on medium high (depending on how big your griddle is, you may have to cook the french toast in batches, so you may not need to use all the butter at once). Dip bread into batter, making sure that you have covered all the bread. This should only take a few seconds, you don't want to soak the bread in the batter or you will get soggy french toast.
- Place bread on the griddle, allowing to brown before flipping, about 3-4 minutes. Once other side has browned, stand french toast up on it's sides so the edges will get crisp, about 15 seconds on each side. If you are cooking french toast in batches, you can transfer to a baking sheet and store in the oven at 225°F until ready to serve.
- Top with remaining strawberry syrup, whipped cream, and toasted almonds. Enjoy!
Notes
You can swap out the strawberries for whatever fruit you want. Depending on what you pick you may want to swap out the almond extract in the whipped cream for vanilla if the favors will contrast.
The filling, whipped cream, and strawberry sauce can be made a day ahead of time. Just let the filling and strawberry sauce come to room temperature for easy spreading when ready to prepare.
Nutrition
Serving: 1each | Calories: 770kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 53g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 265mg | Sodium: 659mg | Potassium: 316mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 1390IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 121mg | Iron: 13.6mg
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