No ordinary French Toast will do for Dad! This Epic French Toast contains all of his favorite things: hearty bread, eggs, cheese, fresh strawberries, and juicy bacon all wrapped up in one dish! Here’s how to make Dad’s French toast extraordinary!
Use a sturdy bread. You need bread that will hold up to soaking in egg custard and frying in lots of butter, while not becoming soggy or greasy. Bottom line – Buy the good bread in the Bakery section!
Cook Slowly. French toast needs to have the perfect crispy outside, while maintaining a fluffy (not soggy) center. This is accomplished by slowly cooking in butter over Medium Low heat, from 10-12 minutes. Yes, 10-12 minutes. Trust me.
But to make it really epic, let’s add a strawberry cream cheese filling, along with lots of bacon! This gives this recipe the ultimate sweet and savory vibes, while adding a salty crunch to the fluffy toast goodness. Top with real maple syrup if Dad likes it sweet, but it’s honestly so good on its own, Dad might not even need it!
Epic Bacon Strawberry Stuffed French Toast
Course: BrunchDifficulty: Easy4
servings20
minutes40
minutesThis Epic French Toast contains all of his favorite things: hearty bread, eggs, cheese, fresh strawberries, and juicy bacon all wrapped up in one dish!
Ingredients
Loaf of Sourdough, Challah, or other sturdy white bread – cut into 1 inch slices
1 stick – unsalted Butter
8 Bacon slices – cooked
1 lb. fresh strawberries, sliced thin
1 tablespoon sugar
- Filling
1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese -softened
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
- Custard
3 Eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon Gran Marnier or Triple Sec
pinch of salt
Directions
- Cut 1 inch thick slices of bread. Lay out on a sheet pan to dry out slightly. Wash, remove the tops and slice the strawberries into several vertical slices. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the strawberries to create a syrup. Cover and refrigerate while preparing French Toast.
- Next, combine softened cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract with a hand mixer until well combined. Refrigerate.
- Finally, whisk together custard ingredients. Pour custard into a shallow dish or sheet pan and and soak bread in custard for 5 minutes on each side to allow the thick bread to absorb as much custard as possible.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter slowly over Medium Low heat. Lower heat if butter is bubbling quickly. Add 2 slices to the pan, and cook the first side for 6-8 minutes, until golden brown (check periodically with a spatula). Then flip and cook for another 4 minutes, or until equally browned. Repeat. Keep cooked toast slices warm in a 200F oven, on a cooling rack set in a sheet pan.
- To serve, take 1 slice of cooked bread, spread with a thick layer of the cream cheese mixture, top with some of the macerated strawberries, and 2-3 slices of bacon. Finish off with another slice of toast and more strawberries to create the most Epic Stuffed French Toast that Dad has ever tasted! Drizzle with maple syrup and/or sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
