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{This post is sponsored by Kraft-Heinz. I’ve used their Philadelphia Cream Cheese to make this KILLER french toast, you will LOVE it!.}
Can we talk about my serious love for French toast?
I think it may just be one of my favorite breakfast/brunch foods. I mean what’s not to love? It’s soft, sweet, fluffy, buttery, eggy and well… completely delicious. Every year when Easter rolls around I just can’t seem to forgo including french toast on our Easter brunch menu… it’s such a favorite amongst everyone that it has become an Easter brunch tradition.
I’m not going to lie, I am much more of an Easter brunch girl than Easter dinner. When given a choice between the two I always go for brunch. It’s much more fun, is always yummy and just so my thing. Plus, brunch makes me think SPRING!! Which, clearly I am all about these days. Bring on Spring, I am so ready!…how many times have you heard me say that in the last week. Sorry, but not really 🙂
Today I am sharing what I will be preparing for my Easter menu. Granted, other than creating the most epic brunch spread ever, I have no idea what else I will be doing for Easter. But hey, if all I do is eat french toast and drink mimosas, bellini’s or whatever, I am totally fine with that!
Okay now, I just have to put it out there that this whipped cream cheese stuffed French toast with raspberries is my very favorite french toast recipe I have ever made… like ever. Meaning it’s number ONE on my french toast list.
NO JOKE. I really do not even know how to convey my love for this light and fluffy, perfectly sweet, cream cheese stuffed french toast. It’s just that amazing.
The good news is that this recipe is also quite simple. You’ll need to start out with a really good challah or brioche bread. I used challah, but honestly I wanted to use brioche…my small town grocery store does not carry a loaf of brioche. Yes, this makes me very sad. Moving on though, once you have your bread the next most crucial item is the whipped cream cheese. This is EVERYTHING. Like never again will I make french toast without whipped cream cheese. It’s just SO good. Next, stuff the cream cheese inside the thick cut slices of bread and dip the bread into a milky, eggy mixture. Then just fry the toast in a skillet with lots of butter. YESSSS.
Pretty simple, but SO outstanding. Hehe, I love french toast! My one little tip is to use really good cream cheese. I prefer Philadelphia Cream Cheese for its awesome flavor and creamy texture. It’s legit and definitely my go-to brand when buying cream cheese.
For my toppings, I went with a lemon and lavender infused sugar and fresh raspberries. I like to toss my raspberries in with a bit of lemon sugar. Then I let them sit in the sugar for a few minutes to allow the raspberries to release their juices. The mix of raspberries and sugar together turns the raspberries into an almost instant raspberry sauce that’s perfect for topping french toast.
For a bit of extra sweetness I did a little drizzle of honey… hey, it’s Easter! The sweeter the better, right??! Right!
No but really, don’t you just wan’t to take a fork to that plate and start DEVOURING?!? If my mouth was not still so sore from getting my wisdom teeth pulled I would SO be making this again for lunch, like right now. FYI, I am SOOO over soft foods. Thinking I just can’t take any more yogurt. Like tonight it’s time for some real food. UGH. Wish me luck!
Until then, I will just have to relive this French toast through these photos…
Whipped Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast with Raspberries.
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 439 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Lemon Lavender Sugar + Raspberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- zest of 2 lemons + juice of half a lemon
- 2 teaspoons dried lavender optional
- 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
Whipped Cream Cheese
- 8 ounces cream cheese I prefer Philadelphia brand
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Lemon Lavender Sugar + Raspberries
- Add the ¾ cup sugar, lemon zest and lavender to a high-powered blender or food process and pulse for about 30 seconds or until the sugar is very fine. Stir in the remaining sugar. The sugar will keep for a few months in a sealed container at room temperature. Add the raspberries to a bowl and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the lemon sugar over the berries.
- Add the juice of half a lemon and toss, breaking up some of the raspberries to help release their juices. Allow the berries to sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Whipped Cream Cheese + French Toast
- To make the whipped cream cheese, add the cream cheese and heavy cream to a mixing bowl.
- Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until soft peaks form, about 3-5 minutes. Beat in the honey and vanilla until just combined.
- Using a paring knife, carefully make an inch (or so) incision in the tops of each slice of bread to create a pocket. Use you finger to enlarge the inside of the pocket and create room for the cream cheese.
- Stuff the insides of the pockets with the whipped cream cheese; do your best to carefully stuff the cream cheese inside. Alternately you can slice the bread in 1/2 inch slices and smear the cream cheese on, as if making a sandwich. I prefer to do it the way I have directed above, as it keeps all the cream cheese inside the bread!
- In a shallow, medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and salt until combined. Dip the stuffed bread into the egg mixture, allowing each side to sit for 1-2 minutes in the egg mixture.
- When ready to cook the French toast. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and coat generously with butter. When the skillet is hot, cook the French toast in batches (do not overcrowd) until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove and serve immediately.
- Sprinkle with lemon sugar and raspberries. DEVOUR! 🙂
Notes
*To bake the french toast as a casserole, follow the directions through the steps of assembling the stuffed bread slices. Then grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and arrange the stuffed bread slices in the dish. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and salt until combined, then pour evenly over bread slices. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight. When ready to bake, take the casserole out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes while preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure all bread slices are evenly coated in egg mixture (redistribute the egg mixture if necessary). Bake casserole for 30-35 minutes. If top starts browning too quickly, loosely place tin foil over the top of the casserole for the last 10 minutes or so. Serve as directed above.
GIMMME…times two please.
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Oh boy does that look yummy!
I too prefer a good brunch over dinner even though I don’t celebrate Easter 🙂
You’ve reallllly been killing it lately and I am loving it! This looks absolutely insane.
YES! This sounds amazing! That lavender sugar AND stuffed French toast?! Woo hoo!
Stuffed French Toast ….nuf said.
This recipe sounds really good. I love breakfast.
Oh yum! that cream cheese filling looks delicious and the lemon lavender sugar is a really nice touch; I know what I’m having for breakfast this weekend!
OH.MY.WORD. This looks crazy good Tieghan!
I love the addition of lavender to your dish! That sounds like such a spring/Easter combo. I seriously need this in my life right now!
This looks like heaven! Love the infused sugar. Really couldn’t get any better for a decadent Easter brunch!
Ooooh I love the lavender addition!! Also, if we had to choose between Easter brunch or dinner.. we wouldn’t! We want both!! hehe
Between this french toast and yesterday’s lamb we’ll be having a HBH Easter. Thanks, Tieghan! I bet by Sunday you’ll be able to enjoy some of this french toast as well.
Loving this !!! What could be better than this for Easter breakfast….in fact any day breakfast !!! Awesome, so breakfast is sorted 🙂
I’m a firm believer that a good french toast depends solely on the type of bread used. THis one seems quite perfect for it!!
http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
How could it possibly get better than THIS!!!! Oh my goodness Girl, you killed it with this one! Easter brunch just got 5000x better!
i’m a believer that lemon sugar makes everything better, so it sounds like the perfect way to top french toast! and love the casserole suggestion- then it’s closer to bread pudding than french toast.