Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

It's just about strawberry season here in southern California.  The prices have already dropped in the supermarkets and I've been loading up.  Judah loves eating them with his breakfast, lunch and dinner although I try to vary it up between other fruits as well.  I had a few strawberries in my fridge the other morning that were calling out my name, pleading with me to use them up before they went bad.  I then remembered a recipe I had torn out of a Costco membership newsletter last December for strawberry stuffed french toast and immediately set out to make it for breakfast.

The original recipe, written by Sandra Lee, called for a few ingredients I didn't have on hand.  So, I either left them out or substituted.  A little worried that these alterations would possibly ruin the results, I was quickly set at ease after taking the first bite.  The toast turned out fabulous!  In fact, it was so good that I decided to just share my version below.  Those ingredients I left out evidently were not vital to the flavor.  And, my version creates a breakfast you can make at home with mainly items you should already have stocked in your pantry.  Bonus!

To be completely honest, I had never tried stuffed french toast before.  Not one single variation of it.  Reading the recipe and looking at the photo, I was a bit skeptical of stuffing a slice of bread with a cream cheese mixture, then frying it.  It didn't seem like it would work, and I was sure the texture would bother me.  Boy, was I in for a big surprise.  The crispy edges of the bread mixed with the creamy strawberry filling left such a pleasing taste on my palate.  And, don't leave out the powdered sugar sprinkled on top.  It creates the perfect additional sweetener!

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

Printable Recipe

Yield: 6-8 servings

1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons strawberry puree
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
4 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
8 slices very thick sliced bread, such as Italian bread, Challah, Texas Toast, etc
Butter
Sliced fresh strawberries
Powdered sugar (optional)
maple syrup or strawberry syrup

Preheat oven to 300˚F

In a small bowl, stir together the cream cheese, strawberry puree and orange zest until smooth.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs then stir in the whipping cream.  Pour into a shallow dish. Set aside.

Using a paring knife, slice a pocket into the side of each slice of bread, without cutting through the bread).  Fill the pockets with a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Dip the filled bread slices into the egg mixture, then brown in the skillet for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden and crispy.  Keep warm on a baking sheet in the preheated oven until ready to serve.  Serve hot with maple syrup, powdered sugar and sliced strawberries.

Source: Sandra Lee via The Costco Connection