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.

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