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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.
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.
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!
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
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!
Baked Strawberry and Cream Stuffed Croissant French Toast
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 525 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons St. Germain (elderflower liquor) (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6-8 small-day-old croissants
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup high quality strawberry jam
- 3 tablespoons melted salted butter, plus more for the pan
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced horizontally
- whipped cream and maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Grease a baking sheet with butter. 2. In a large shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons St. Germain, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and the salt. 3. Grab the croissants and make a 1 inch slit at the top of each, move your knife to create space in the croissant, being careful not to poke through the other sides (see above photos). 4. In a bowl, gently stir together the cream cheese and strawberry jam, leaving streaks of red and white. Spoon the mix into a ziplock bag and snip the corner off the bag. Squeeze approximately 2 tablespoons of the strawberry cream into each croissant where you created your hole. Don't stress about making it perfect. Dip each croissant into the egg mixture, allow it to sit 1 minute per side. Arrange half the croissants on the prepared baking sheet. 5. Brush each croissant with a little leftover egg batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the croissant is golden. 6. Melt together the butter, brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Spoon the butter evenly over each croissant. Bake another 10 minutes, until the croissants are caramelized on top and crisp.7. Toss the berries with 1 tablespoon St. Germain, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon maple. Serve the french toast warm, topped with whipped cream, berries, and maple Enjoy!
Notes
To Make Ahead: Complete the recipe through step 5. Cover and place in the fridge overnight. When ready to bake, remove the french toast from the fridge and let it sit on the counter while the oven preheats. Bake and finish the recipe as directed through step 5.
This was so delicious! My husband made it for me this morning for Mother’s Day after I passed the link along to him earlier in the week. We could only find smaller croissants and much of the cream cheese filling oozed out while cooking, but we just scooped it under the croissants prior to serving and it worked just fine. We also couldn’t find the St. Germain but since we were making mimosas, I added a little sparkling wine to the fresh strawberries instead- yum! Can’t wait to make this again.
Hey Mikaela,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
I made this for Mother’s Day and omg!!! It was fabulous didn’t use the liquor because I didn’t have it and it was still fabulous! Everyone in my family practically licked their plates. Easy, made it night before as suggested and this am popped it in the oven. A keeper for sure. BTW made chicken with artichokes and orzo the other day also fabulous and easy.
Hey Deb,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Beyond delicious. Made this for a Mother’s Day brunch and not one critique from anyone at the table. Feels elegant but oh so easy. Definitely making this again.
Forgot to add; my husband is a self proclaimed French toast connoisseur ? and he was blown away.
Hey Sarah,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
This was AMAZING! The topping of brown sugar/maple/butter really adds the extra special something to this recipe, and the strawberries tossed in vanilla and maple were fantastic. We didn’t even need any syrup, the french toast was sweet enough as is. Looking forward to trying this with blueberries soon!
Hey Amanda,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
So easy to make and so delicious!
Hey Nicole,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Made this for my daughter and she was in heaven! Thank you for another amazing recipe. You’re our favorite ❤️
Hey Liz,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
I made this today for Mother’s Day and everyone loved it! I did sub cream cheese with mascarpone and it came out fabulous! Thank you for amazing recipes ❤️
Hey there,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Tieghan,
You are a very talented young lady. I prepped this last night for
Mother’s Day. Baked this morning, Wow, I will make this again. It was delicious. Thank you for sharing your talent.
Hey Gena,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
These were incredible!
Hey Katie,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Thank you for another great recipe! I substituted in dark chocolate chips to stuff inside the croissants instead of the cream cheese swirls (insanely picky little kids) and it was amazing! And so easy!! Your recipes got me through this Covid year – thanks!!
Hey Tanya,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Made for myself for Mother’s Day. Worth it. SOOOO good!
Hey Elise,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
ok i hate being that person, but i’m about to be that person: if, say, one was lacking in croissants, but happened to have a loaf of french bread… what chances would you give them that this would work out with slits cut into thick slices of the aforementioned french bread, as opposed to croissants?
feel free not to answer this because, yes, i’m being that person and i’m sorry but it looks so good and i don’t want to go back to the store ?
Hey Liz,
Unfortunately, I think cutting slits into French bread might be quite challenging. If you don’t have croissants, I would suggest giving one of these recipes a try:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/whipped-cream-cheese-stuffed-french-toast-with-raspberries/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/baked-cinnamon-creme-brulee-french-toast-with-raspberry-preserves/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/cinnamon-sugar-french-toast/
I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Ours came out amazing! My daughter made this for us this morning!!! Perfect and delicious Mother’s Day breakfast! Such a great recipe! Thank you.
Hey Kathy,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
These look amazing, unlike anything I’ve made before. Mmm.xx
Thanks so much Kelly-Jane! xTieghan
This looks sooo good! Can’t wait to make it. Question: if you only put half the croissants on the baking sheet, what do you do with the other half? Thanks!
Hey Abby,
You will want to use another baking sheet for the other croissants. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
For someone who is allergic to strawberries, what fruit do you recommend for this? Looks delicious!
Hey Kristen,
Really any other berry would be great here! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan