Baked Strawberry and Cream Stuffed Croissant French Toast.

It’s pretty hard to beat this Baked Strawberry and Cream Stuffed Croissant French Toast. Not only is this french toast easy…it’s better than any other french toast you’ve ever had. Yep, bold but true! Soft, buttery, flaky croissants, stuffed with strawberries and extra creamy, cream cheese. Then baked in an eggy french toast “batter”. It’s the perfect (make-ahead) brunch entrée for both spring and summer. And it’s super pretty when topped with a dollop of whipped cream, berries, and a nice drizzle of maple. No one will pass up this french toast!

This was a very last-minute recipe that I made on Sunday with Mother’s Day in mind. Instead of overthinking it, I just decided to make it. And now? Well, now I couldn’t be more excited to share the recipe. I had the realization Sunday morning that I haven’t yet shared anything for a Mother’s Day brunch. Usually, I’ll share at least one new recipe with you guys to help celebrate our moms. More times than not, my brunch recipes are on the sweeter side, as that’s the kind of brunch food my mom enjoys most.

She’s loves anything bready, eggy, fruity, and dolloped with cream. Think dutch babies, blueberry waffles, crepes, pancakes, and french toast. She loves them all.

I opened up Pinterest to see a photo of french toast dressed in powdered sugar and berries. Suddenly, I felt like making french toast. But instead of just regular ole’ french toast, I’d make it extra special for Mother’s Day. I decided I’d bake it, because let’s be real, standing at the stove flipping french toast all morning is not what I want to be doing. I think we can all pretty much agree on that.

Ingredients

• Large eggs 
• Whole milk 
• Vanilla extract 
• St. Germain 
• Kosher salt 
• 6-8 small day-old croissants 
• Cream cheese 
• High quality strawberry jam 
• Melted salted butter 
• Brown sugar 
• Real maple syrup 
• Strawberries 
• Whipped cream and maple syrup 

And that’s when this fun idea was born.

Using croissants for french toast is nothing new to me, I’ve done it before. But this time, I wanted to try something different. I want to leave the croissants in their same shape and form, but instead, stuff them with berries and cream, and then bake them on a baking sheet to allow them to caramelize a bit in the oven.

At first, I wasn’t sure how everything was going to play out. But honestly, I might never make french toast any other way again. This is so easy, but looks crazy impressive, and most importantly, it’s delicious.

Here are the details

For the french toast batter, it’s simple…eggs, milk, and vanilla. My secret here is a splash of St. Germain, which is elderflower liquor. It’s a very subtle floral flavor that I find pairs perfectly with strawberries. If you have it on hand, it’s a must. If not, just use vanilla and maybe add a pinch of cinnamon.

You’ll want to find yourself some croissants, it’s best if they’re nice and flaky, but on the smaller side. If possible, let them sit out for a day. But honestly, I usually just buy them fresh and then make the french toast! I’m not a great planner. Anyway, take the croissants and make a small slit in each to create a pocket for the berries and cream. It’s actually really easy to do. I tried my best to give you visuals, but as always look out for the Instagram story tonight for a complete how-to.

Next, swirl the cream cheese with your favorite strawberry jam, then stuff the mix into each croissant. Sounds fancy, but I promise, it’s easy.

From here, butter up a baking sheet. Now dip each stuffed croissant into the egg batter, and arrange on the baking sheet. Here’s the added bonus to this recipe. Once the french toast has been dipped, you can cover the pan and keep it in the fridge overnight, then in the morning – bake!

Very convenient for early mornings!

Here is the secret…

It’s simple, first, mix butter with brown sugar and maple. The secret is to spoon that brown sugar and maple butter sauce over top of the french toast about three-quarters of the way through baking.

As the french toast finishes baking the sugar and butter caramelize overtop of the croissants creating a caramelized outer layer with the softest, eggy, creamy insides.

It is DELICIOUS you guys. The very best croissant french toast bake!

I will note, you may need to spoon some of the maple butter sauce off of the sheet pan and over the french toast, as it will slide off a bit. But other than that nothing is tricky!

I (of course) serve the french toast warm with a dollop of whipped cream and maple.

And the berries, I love to toss them with a little more of that St. Germain and a splash of vanilla too. Simple, pretty, and oh SO GOOD. When I sent my mom the photos, this was her response…

“Wow! I want to eat those – NOW! Beautiful!”

“They ALL look SO good!”

And after I finished shooting, she ate them. She said they tasted even better than they looked. This baked croissant french toast clearly has her seal of approval! We will 100% be recreating this recipe for Mother’s Day! Fresh fruit and fresh berries really make all the difference – be sure to shop your local market for the freshest fruits you can find!

Looking for a few other Mother’s Day brunch recipes? Here are my mom’s favorites.

Lemon Strawberry Dutch Baby with Ricotta Cream

Raspberry Lemon Brioche Rolls with Whipped Ricotta Cream

Cinnamon Sugar French Toast

Lastly, if you make this Baked Strawberry and Cream Stuffed Croissant French Toast be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!