I’m kind of in love with French toast. And I think the love might be genetic because Cate is equally obsessed with it, too. Which is why it’s surprising that with this deep abiding devotion, I’ve never made stuffed French toast before. Crispy French toast? Check. Baked French toast? Check again. Begging for delicious French toast recipes from all of you? Triple check! But for some reason I’ve never ventured into the world of stuffed French toast…until now.

A few months ago we met my sister in Dana Point for breakfast. I ordered cream cheese-stuffed French toast because, well, who wouldn’t? And, in all honesty, I was supremely disappointed with what came to the table. I was expecting a cream cheese filling but got slabs of straight-up cream cheese. I was expecting magically stuffed bread but got two slices of French toast lying on top of each other with the aforementioned cream cheese just sitting in the middle. The dish did not at all live up to my expectations. This weekend I finally decided to make what I had envisioned a reality. (Yes, I have French toast visions. I told you it was serious.)

My homemade version was everything I imagined the restaurant version should have been. The right amount of sweet, the right amount of gooey, the right amount of cheesy. Nate really liked it, which is saying something because he does not in fact love French toast the way I do. (Never has the case of “opposites attract” been more true than with Nate and I!) Cate of course loved the stuffed French toast just as much as I did.

This stuffed French toast recipe was inspired by the Banana Cream Cheese Pie from the Dodo in Salt Lake City. Side note: I have been trying to recreate that pie at home but I’m finding it’s nearly impossible. I know some of you have been waiting for that recipe to appear on the blog but it may never happen, which is tragedy of epic proportions. While I may not be able to get the pie perfected, at least I can enjoy it in breakfast form!

I had leftover cream cheese frosting from when we made the chocolate heart sandwich cookies last week. I just used that for the filling and it was perfect! You could also simply let cream cheese soften to room temperature and mix in a bit of powdered sugar, vanilla extract and, if needed, a bit of milk to make it easier to mix up. Just add sugar to taste. You don’t want it to be too sugary, but you also want some sweetness involved.

(>> Find out more…)

Have I convinced you yet to make cornflake or crispy crunch? If not, maybe today’s post will tip the balance!

Years ago I stayed at the Parker Palm Springs, a Jonathan Adler paradise with very delicious food and beautiful grounds. For breakfast one morning I ordered French toast that was coated in…wait for it…I bet you can’t guess…or maybe you can…crisped rice! That French toast was SO GOOD. Okay, so I think you can figure out the rest of this story…when Cora started telling me about cornflake crunch in the Milk Bar cookies, visions of crispy French toast danced in my head.

This week we tried making French toast with both the crispy crunch and the cornflake crunch. The crispy crunch was good, but I LOVED the French toast with cornflake crunch coating. It had a great crisp texture and was very tasty!

So, that’s all I’ve got so far for the cornflake and crispy crunch…but I’m sure I’ll think of more ways to use it! And if you think of other ways too, please share!

Crispy French Toast

 

Print

From Jane Maynard, This Week for Dinner

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Breakfast

Ingredients

• Sliced bread of your choosing (French, brioche, whatever!)
• Eggs whisked with about 1 tablespoon of milk per 2 eggs or so (2-3 slices of bread per egg)
• Cornflake crunch (you can use crispy crunch, too, but I liked cornflake better)
• Butter

Instructions

1. Dip bread slices in whisked egg. Dip in cornflake crunch to coat both sides. Dip bread AGAIN in the egg – some of the crunch will fall off, but that’s okay, most of it will stay on and you can just sort of pat it back in place.
2. Cook in a buttered pan over medium-low to medium heat until both sides are browned.
3. Delicious coated in butter and pure maple syrup!

3.2.2708

Today’s featured recipe is Baked French Toast. While I listed this recipe under main dishes, I gotta admit it may be more appropriate under desserts. But I’m going to continue to think of it is a main dish so I can have it for dinner once in a while.

A few quick notes on this recipe. This last time I used Brioche bread and it was PERFECT for this recipe. Also, pecans are by far my favorite nut to use in this. Not much else to say except it’s mighty delicious. Oh – and sorry there’s no picture of the final product… I forgot to take one, but the ingredients sure are pretty!

Featured Recipe: Baked French Toast

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Mighty delicious baked french toast!

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Breakfast

Ingredients

• ½ C brown sugar
• ⅓ C butter
• 2 T corn syrup
• Chopped pecans, almonds, whatever
• 2 t. orange zest
• ½ C OJ
• ½ C milk
• 3 T sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 t vanilla
• 3 egg whites
• 2 eggs (or 4 eggs)
• A bunch of slices of bread (probably 12, give or take – depending on the size of the bread, enough to fill the cookie sheet)

Instructions

1. For the bread, I love to use a loaf of brioche (which is pictured here). Sliced french or italian bread would work, too. But a nice rich, soft bread like the brioche is my favorite.
2. Mix brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Spread with nuts on cookie sheet and lay slices of bread on top. Mix rest of the ingredients and pour on top of bread. Sit for 1 hour in fridge. Bake 350 for 35 mins.

3.2.2265